Exciton states have obvious effects on optical properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials. Here, we investigate excitonic effects on electronic and optical properties of PbI2 by using G(0)W(0 )+ Bethe-Salpeter equation method, considering the layer number and strain effect. These studies show that exciton states obviously modify and dominate the optical absorption of 2D PbI2 nanosheets. Also, with the increasing number of layers, the intensity of main absorption peak increases and the exciton binding energy decreases. Meanwhile, the tensile strain can induce the threshold energy of optical spectra shift down the low energy, and exciton binding energy has a maximum at the strain of 3%. Therefore, our results indicate that the 2D PbI2 nanomaterials have excellent ultraviolet absorption and corresponding potential for the application of optoelectronic devices.