diff --git a/colossalai/booster/plugin/gemini_plugin.py b/colossalai/booster/plugin/gemini_plugin.py
index 4a7efc165..ce01ad111 100644
--- a/colossalai/booster/plugin/gemini_plugin.py
+++ b/colossalai/booster/plugin/gemini_plugin.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ from torch.optim.lr_scheduler import _LRScheduler as LRScheduler
 from torch.utils.data import DataLoader
 
 from colossalai.checkpoint_io import CheckpointIndexFile, CheckpointIO, GeneralCheckpointIO
-from colossalai.checkpoint_io.utils import get_base_filenames, get_shard_filename, save_state_dict
+from colossalai.checkpoint_io.utils import get_model_base_filenames, get_shard_filename, save_state_dict
 from colossalai.cluster import DistCoordinator
 from colossalai.interface import ModelWrapper, OptimizerWrapper
 from colossalai.utils import get_current_device
@@ -76,14 +76,14 @@ class GeminiCheckpointIO(GeneralCheckpointIO):
                            model: GeminiDDP,
                            checkpoint_path: str,
                            gather_dtensor: bool = False,
-                           variant: Optional[str] = None,
+                           prefix: Optional[str] = None,
                            max_shard_size: int = 1024,
                            use_safetensors: bool = False):
         """
         Save sharded model
         """
         state_dict_shard = model.state_dict_shard(max_shard_size=max_shard_size, only_rank_0=True, dtype=torch.float32)
-        weights_name, save_index_file = get_base_filenames(variant, use_safetensors)
+        weights_name, save_index_file = get_model_base_filenames(prefix, use_safetensors)
         total_size = 0
         index_file = CheckpointIndexFile(checkpoint_path)
         for idx, shard_pair in enumerate(state_dict_shard):
diff --git a/colossalai/booster/plugin/torch_ddp_plugin.py b/colossalai/booster/plugin/torch_ddp_plugin.py
index b317ccf48..a18073db6 100644
--- a/colossalai/booster/plugin/torch_ddp_plugin.py
+++ b/colossalai/booster/plugin/torch_ddp_plugin.py
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ class TorchDDPCheckpointIO(GeneralCheckpointIO):
         """
         Save model to checkpoint but only on master process.
         """
-        # the model should be unwrapped in self.load_model via ModelWrapper.unwrap
         if self.coordinator.is_master():
             super().save_unsharded_model(model, checkpoint, gather_dtensor, use_safetensors)
 
@@ -54,11 +53,22 @@ class TorchDDPCheckpointIO(GeneralCheckpointIO):
                            model: nn.Module,
                            checkpoint_path: str,
                            gather_dtensor: bool = False,
-                           variant: Optional[str] = None,
+                           prefix: Optional[str] = None,
                            max_shard_size: int = 1024,
                            use_safetensors: bool = False):
+        """
+        Save model to checkpoint but only on master process.
+        """
         if self.coordinator.is_master():
-            super().save_sharded_model(model, checkpoint_path, gather_dtensor, variant, max_shard_size, use_safetensors)
+            super().save_sharded_model(model, checkpoint_path, gather_dtensor, prefix, max_shard_size, use_safetensors)
+
+    def save_sharded_optimier(self, optimizer: Optimizer, checkpoint: str, gather_dtensor: bool, prefix: str,
+                              size_per_shard: int):
+        """
+        Save optimizer to checkpoint but only on master process.
+        """
+        if self.coordinator.is_master():
+            super().save_sharded_optimizer(optimizer, checkpoint, gather_dtensor, prefix, size_per_shard)
 
 
 class TorchDDPModel(ModelWrapper):
diff --git a/colossalai/booster/plugin/torch_fsdp_plugin.py b/colossalai/booster/plugin/torch_fsdp_plugin.py
index 8d534ea4c..ebd03b6ea 100644
--- a/colossalai/booster/plugin/torch_fsdp_plugin.py
+++ b/colossalai/booster/plugin/torch_fsdp_plugin.py
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
+import warnings
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Callable, Iterable, Iterator, List, Optional, Tuple, Union
 
 import torch
 import torch.nn as nn
-import warnings
 from packaging import version
 from torch.distributed import ProcessGroup
 
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ class TorchFSDPCheckpointIO(GeneralCheckpointIO):
         full_optimizer_state = FSDP.full_optim_state_dict(fsdp_model, optim=optimizer, rank0_only=True)
         utils.save_state_dict(full_optimizer_state, checkpoint_file_path=checkpoint, use_safetensors=False)
 
-    def save_sharded_model(self, model: nn.Module, checkpoint: str, gather_dtensor: bool, variant: Optional[str],
+    def save_sharded_model(self, model: nn.Module, checkpoint: str, gather_dtensor: bool, prefix: Optional[str],
                            size_per_shard: int, use_safetensors: bool):
         """
         Save model to checkpoint but only on master process.
@@ -87,13 +87,14 @@ class TorchFSDPCheckpointIO(GeneralCheckpointIO):
         """
         raise NotImplementedError("Sharded model checkpoint is not supported yet.")
 
-    def save_sharded_optimizer(self, optimizer: Optimizer, checkpoint: str, gather_dtensor: bool):
+    def save_sharded_optimizer(self, optimizer: Optimizer, checkpoint: str, gather_dtensor: bool, prefix: str,
+                               size_per_shard: int):
         """
         Save optimizer to checkpoint but only on master process.
         """
         raise NotImplementedError("Sharded optimizer checkpoint is not supported yet.")
 
-    def load_sharded_optimizer(self, optimizer: Optimizer, index_file_path: str, prefix: str, size_per_shard: int):
+    def load_sharded_optimizer(self, optimizer: Optimizer, index_file_path: str, size_per_shard: int):
         """
         Load optimizer to checkpoint but only on master process.
         """
diff --git a/colossalai/checkpoint_io/checkpoint_io_base.py b/colossalai/checkpoint_io/checkpoint_io_base.py
index fbc8fc542..9d513043f 100644
--- a/colossalai/checkpoint_io/checkpoint_io_base.py
+++ b/colossalai/checkpoint_io/checkpoint_io_base.py
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ class CheckpointIO(ABC):
                    checkpoint: str,
                    shard: bool = False,
                    gather_dtensor: bool = True,
-                   variant: str = None,
+                   prefix: str = None,
                    size_per_shard: int = 1024,
                    use_safetensors: bool = False):
         """
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ class CheckpointIO(ABC):
                 multiple files. The model shards will be specified by a `model.index.json` file. When shard = True, please ensure
                 that the checkpoint path is a directory path instead of a file path.
             gather_dtensor (bool): whether to gather the distributed tensor to the first device. Default: True.
-            variant (str): If specified, weights are saved in the format pytorch_model.<variant>.bin. Default: None.
+            prefix (str): If specified, weights are saved in the format pytorch_model.<prefix>.bin. Default: None.
             size_per_shard (int): size per shard in MB. Default: 1024. This value is only used when shard = True.
             use_safetensors (bool): whether to use safe tensors. Default: False. If set to True, the checkpoint will be saved
         """
@@ -137,11 +137,11 @@ class CheckpointIO(ABC):
             model = model.unwrap()
 
         if shard:
-            self.save_sharded_model(model, checkpoint, gather_dtensor, variant, size_per_shard, use_safetensors)
+            self.save_sharded_model(model, checkpoint, gather_dtensor, prefix, size_per_shard, use_safetensors)
         else:
             self.save_unsharded_model(model, checkpoint, gather_dtensor, use_safetensors)
 
-    def load_optimizer(self, optimizer: Optimizer, checkpoint: str):
+    def load_optimizer(self, optimizer: Optimizer, checkpoint: str, prefix: str = None, size_per_shard: int = 1024):
         """
         Load optimizer from checkpoint.
 
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ class CheckpointIO(ABC):
 
         if index_file_exists:
             # the existence of index file means it is a sharded checkpoint
-            self.load_sharded_optimizer(optimizer, index_file_path)
+            self.load_sharded_optimizer(optimizer, index_file_path, prefix, size_per_shard)
         else:
             self.load_unsharded_optimizer(optimizer, checkpoint)
 
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@ class CheckpointIO(ABC):
         pass
 
     @abstractmethod
-    def save_sharded_model(self, model: nn.Module, checkpoint: str, gather_dtensor: bool, variant: Optional[str],
+    def save_sharded_model(self, model: nn.Module, checkpoint: str, gather_dtensor: bool, prefix: Optional[str],
                            size_per_shard: int, use_safetensors: bool):
         """
         Save model to sharded checkpoint.
diff --git a/colossalai/checkpoint_io/general_checkpoint_io.py b/colossalai/checkpoint_io/general_checkpoint_io.py
index 2cc9c3faa..d8e133313 100644
--- a/colossalai/checkpoint_io/general_checkpoint_io.py
+++ b/colossalai/checkpoint_io/general_checkpoint_io.py
@@ -11,15 +11,21 @@ from torch.optim import Optimizer
 from .checkpoint_io_base import CheckpointIO
 from .index_file import CheckpointIndexFile
 from .utils import (
-    get_base_filenames,
+    get_model_base_filenames,
+    get_optimizer_base_filenames,
     get_shard_filename,
     has_index_file,
     is_safetensors_available,
+    load_param_groups_into_optimizer,
     load_shard_state_dict,
     load_state_dict,
     load_state_dict_into_model,
+    load_states_into_optimizer,
+    save_param_groups,
     save_state_dict,
-    shard_checkpoint,
+    shard_model_checkpoint,
+    shard_optimizer_checkpoint,
+    sharded_optimizer_loading_epilogue,
 )
 
 __all__ = ['GeneralCheckpointIO']
@@ -44,12 +50,30 @@ class GeneralCheckpointIO(CheckpointIO):
         # save the checkpoint
         save_state_dict(state_dict, checkpoint, use_safetensors)
 
-    def load_sharded_optimizer(self, optimizer: Optimizer, checkpoint: Path, prefix: str, size_per_shard: int):
-        raise NotImplementedError("Sharded optimizer checkpoint is not supported yet.")
+    def load_sharded_optimizer(self, optimizer: Optimizer, index_file_path: str, prefix: str, size_per_shard: int):
+        """
+        Load sharded optimizer with the given path to index file.
+        """
+        optimizer.load_state_dict
+        # Read checkpoint index file.
+        ckpt_index_file = CheckpointIndexFile.from_file(index_file_path)
 
-    def load_unsharded_optimizer(self, optimizer: Optimizer, checkpoint: Path):
-        checkpoint = load_state_dict(checkpoint)
-        optimizer.load_state_dict(checkpoint)
+        # Load param_groups
+        param_group_path = ckpt_index_file.get_param_group_filename()
+        if param_group_path is None:
+            raise RuntimeError(f'Invalid index file path {index_file_path} for an optimizer. \
+                               Lacking param group file under current directory.')
+        id_map = load_param_groups_into_optimizer(optimizer, param_group_path)
+
+        checkpoint_files, _ = ckpt_index_file.get_checkpoint_filenames()
+
+        for shard_file in checkpoint_files:
+            state_dict = load_shard_state_dict(Path(shard_file), use_safetensors=False)
+            load_states_into_optimizer(optimizer, state_dict, id_map)
+            del state_dict
+            gc.collect()
+
+        sharded_optimizer_loading_epilogue(optimizer)
 
     def save_sharded_optimizer(
         self,
@@ -59,7 +83,54 @@ class GeneralCheckpointIO(CheckpointIO):
         prefix: str,
         size_per_shard: int,
     ):
-        raise NotImplementedError("Sharded optimizer checkpoint is not supported yet.")
+        """
+        Save sharded optimizer checkpoint under the given checkpointing path.
+        The following files will be created under the path:
+        - An index file (pytorch_optim.bin.index.json) containing a map between optimizer states and file names
+        - A group file (pytorch_optim_group.bin) recording information of param_groups
+        - Multiple files (pytorch_optim-000XX.bin) that store state tensors of optimizer in a sharding way
+        """
+        if os.path.isfile(checkpoint):
+            logging.error(f"Provided path ({checkpoint}) should be a directory, not a file")
+            return
+
+        Path(checkpoint).mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+
+        # Offload optimizer states. States are broken into shards within max_shard_size.
+        state_dict = optimizer.state_dict()
+        sharded_state = shard_optimizer_checkpoint(state_dict, max_shard_size=size_per_shard)
+
+        # Preparing file paths and index file.
+        states_name, save_index_file, param_group_file = get_optimizer_base_filenames(prefix)
+        index_file = CheckpointIndexFile(checkpoint)
+
+        # Store the information of param groups to param_group_file.
+        index_file.append_meta_data("param_groups", param_group_file)
+        group_file_path = os.path.join(checkpoint, param_group_file)
+        save_param_groups(state_dict, group_file_path)
+
+        # Save shards of optimizer states.
+        total_size = 0
+        for idx, shard_pair in enumerate(sharded_state):
+            shard, current_size = shard_pair
+            shard_file = get_shard_filename(states_name, idx)
+            total_size = total_size + current_size
+            for param_id in shard.keys():
+                index_file.append_weight_map(str(param_id), shard_file)
+
+            checkpoint_file_path = os.path.join(checkpoint, shard_file)
+            save_state_dict(shard, checkpoint_file_path, use_safetensors=False)
+
+        # Wrap up index file.
+        index_file.append_meta_data("total_size", total_size)
+        index_file.write_index_file(save_index_file)
+        logging.info(f"The optimizer is going to be split to checkpoint shards. "
+                     f"You can find where each parameters has been saved in the "
+                     f"index located at {save_index_file}.")
+
+    def load_unsharded_optimizer(self, optimizer: Optimizer, checkpoint: Path):
+        checkpoint = load_state_dict(checkpoint)
+        optimizer.load_state_dict(checkpoint)
 
     def save_unsharded_optimizer(
         self,
@@ -74,7 +145,7 @@ class GeneralCheckpointIO(CheckpointIO):
                            model: nn.Module,
                            checkpoint_path: str,
                            gather_dtensor: bool = False,
-                           variant: Optional[str] = None,
+                           prefix: Optional[str] = None,
                            max_shard_size: int = 1024,
                            use_safetensors: bool = False):
         """
@@ -89,9 +160,9 @@ class GeneralCheckpointIO(CheckpointIO):
 
         # shard checkpoint
         state_dict = model.state_dict()
-        state_dict_shard = shard_checkpoint(state_dict, max_shard_size=max_shard_size)
+        state_dict_shard = shard_model_checkpoint(state_dict, max_shard_size=max_shard_size)
 
-        weights_name, save_index_file = get_base_filenames(variant, use_safetensors)
+        weights_name, save_index_file = get_model_base_filenames(prefix, use_safetensors)
         total_size = 0
         index_file = CheckpointIndexFile(checkpoint_path)
         for idx, shard_pair in enumerate(state_dict_shard):
@@ -128,7 +199,7 @@ class GeneralCheckpointIO(CheckpointIO):
 
         # read checkpoint index file
         ckpt_index_file = CheckpointIndexFile.from_file(checkpoint_index_file)
-        checkpoint_files, _ = ckpt_index_file.get_checkpoint_fileanames()
+        checkpoint_files, _ = ckpt_index_file.get_checkpoint_filenames()
         missing_keys = []
 
         for shard_file in checkpoint_files:
diff --git a/colossalai/checkpoint_io/index_file.py b/colossalai/checkpoint_io/index_file.py
index a41cc482e..388cf3fbe 100644
--- a/colossalai/checkpoint_io/index_file.py
+++ b/colossalai/checkpoint_io/index_file.py
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ class CheckpointIndexFile:
                 return True
         return False
 
-    def get_checkpoint_fileanames(self) -> List[str]:
+    def get_checkpoint_filenames(self) -> List[str]:
         """
         Get the set of checkpoint filenames in the weight map.
 
@@ -159,6 +159,18 @@ class CheckpointIndexFile:
         """
         return list(self.weight_map.keys())
 
+    def get_param_group_filename(self) -> Union[str, None]:
+        """
+        Get the file name of param_group file if this is a checkpoint for optimizer.
+        Returns:
+            str: param_group file name
+        """
+        filename = self.metadata.get("param_groups", None)
+        if filename:
+            return str(self.root_path.joinpath(filename))
+        else:
+            return None
+
     def write_index_file(self, save_index_file):
         """
         Write index file.
diff --git a/colossalai/checkpoint_io/utils.py b/colossalai/checkpoint_io/utils.py
index 435feda4a..21b70343b 100644
--- a/colossalai/checkpoint_io/utils.py
+++ b/colossalai/checkpoint_io/utils.py
@@ -1,17 +1,24 @@
 # coding=utf-8
 import re
+from collections import abc as container_abcs
+from collections import defaultdict
+from itertools import chain
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Iterator, List, Mapping, Optional, OrderedDict, Tuple
 
 import torch
 import torch.nn as nn
+from torch.optim import Optimizer
 
 from colossalai.tensor.d_tensor.d_tensor import DTensor
 
 SAFE_WEIGHTS_NAME = "model.safetensors"
 WEIGHTS_NAME = "pytorch_model.bin"
+STATES_NAME = "pytorch_optim.bin"
 SAFE_WEIGHTS_INDEX_NAME = "model.safetensors.index.json"
 WEIGHTS_INDEX_NAME = "pytorch_model.bin.index.json"
+STATES_INDEX_NAME = "pytorch_optim.bin.index.json"
+GROUP_FILE_NAME = "pytorch_optim_group.bin"
 
 # ======================================
 # General helper functions
@@ -81,7 +88,7 @@ def is_safetensor_checkpoint(checkpoint_file_path: str) -> bool:
 # ======================================
 # Helper functions for saving shard file
 # ======================================
-def shard_checkpoint(state_dict: torch.Tensor, max_shard_size: int = 1024) -> Iterator[Tuple[OrderedDict, int]]:
+def shard_model_checkpoint(state_dict: torch.Tensor, max_shard_size: int = 1024) -> Iterator[Tuple[OrderedDict, int]]:
     """
     Splits a model state dictionary in sub-checkpoints so that the final size of each sub-checkpoint does not exceed a
     given size.
@@ -110,6 +117,50 @@ def shard_checkpoint(state_dict: torch.Tensor, max_shard_size: int = 1024) -> It
     yield current_block, current_block_size
 
 
+def shard_optimizer_checkpoint(state_dict: dict, max_shard_size: int = 1024) -> Iterator[Tuple[OrderedDict, int]]:
+    """
+    Splits an optimizer state dictionary in sub-checkpoints so that the final size of each sub-checkpoint does not exceed a
+    given size.
+    """
+
+    # Only split state_dict['state']; state_dict['param_group'] is not considered in this function.
+    states = state_dict['state']
+
+    current_block = {}
+    current_block_size = 0
+
+    for param_id, state in states.items():
+
+        ret_block = None
+        ret_block_size = 0
+
+        # A state might contain more than one tensors.
+        # e.g. each Adam state includes: 'step', 'exp_avg', 'exp_avg_sq'
+        state_size = 0
+        isDTensor = False
+        for state_tensor in state.values():
+            # If the states are stored as DTensors, mark isDTensor as true.
+            if type(state_tensor) == DTensor:
+                isDTensor = True
+            state_size += calculate_tensor_size(state_tensor)
+
+        if not isDTensor:
+
+            if current_block_size + state_size > max_shard_size:
+                ret_block = current_block
+                ret_block_size = current_block_size
+                current_block = {}
+                current_block_size = 0
+
+            current_block[param_id] = state
+            current_block_size += state_size
+
+        if ret_block != None:
+            yield ret_block, ret_block_size
+
+    yield current_block, current_block_size
+
+
 def load_shard_state_dict(checkpoint_file: Path, use_safetensors: bool = False):
     """
     load shard state dict into model
@@ -179,6 +230,96 @@ def load_state_dict_into_model(model: nn.Module,
                 model.__class__.__name__, "\n\t".join(error_msgs)))
 
 
+def load_param_groups_into_optimizer(optimizer: Optimizer, param_group_path: str) -> dict:
+    """
+    Load information of param_groups into an initialized optimizer.
+    """
+
+    # Load list of param_groups from given file path.
+    # The params in saved_groups are in the form of integer indices.
+    saved_groups = torch.load(param_group_path)
+    if not isinstance(saved_groups, List):
+        raise ValueError(f'The param_groups saved at {param_group_path} is not of List type')
+
+    # The params in param_groups are in the form of pytorch tensors.
+    # For more details, please view source code of Optimizer class in pytorch.
+    param_groups = optimizer.param_groups
+
+    # Check the compatibility of saved_groups and param_groups.
+    if len(param_groups) != len(saved_groups):
+        raise ValueError("loaded state dict has a different number of original parameter groups")
+    param_lens = (len(g['params']) for g in param_groups)
+    saved_lens = (len(g['params']) for g in saved_groups)
+    if any(p_len != s_len for p_len, s_len in zip(param_lens, saved_lens)):
+        raise ValueError("loaded state dict contains a parameter group "
+                         "that doesn't match the size of optimizer's group")
+
+    # Creating mapping from id to parameters.
+    id_map = {
+        old_id: p for old_id, p in zip(chain.from_iterable((g['params'] for g in saved_groups
+                                                           )), chain.from_iterable((g['params'] for g in param_groups)))
+    }
+
+    # Update parameter groups, setting their 'params' value.
+    def update_group(group, new_group):
+        new_group['params'] = group['params']
+        return new_group
+
+    updated_groups = [update_group(g, ng) for g, ng in zip(param_groups, saved_groups)]
+
+    optimizer.__dict__.update({'param_groups': updated_groups})
+    return id_map
+
+
+def load_states_into_optimizer(optimzier: Optimizer, state_dict: dict, id_map: dict):
+    r"""Copies states from `state_dict` into an Optimizer object.
+
+    Args:
+        optimizer(Optimizer): An initialized Optimizer object to be loaded
+        state_dict(dict): a mapping from tensor index (an integer)
+            to its states to be loaded (a mapping from state name to a tensor).
+        id_map(dict): a mapping from tensor index (an integer)
+            to its corresponding parameter (a tensor) whose states will be updated.
+    """
+
+    def cast(param, value, key=None):
+        r"""Make a deep copy of value, casting all tensors to device of param."""
+        if isinstance(value, torch.Tensor):
+            # Floating-point types are a bit special here. They are the only ones
+            # that are assumed to always match the type of params.
+            # Make sure state['step'] is not casted https://github.com/pytorch/pytorch/issues/74424
+            if (key != "step"):
+                if param.is_floating_point():
+                    value = value.to(param.dtype)
+                value = value.to(param.device)
+            return value
+        elif isinstance(value, dict):
+            return {k: cast(param, v, key=k) for k, v in value.items()}
+        elif isinstance(value, container_abcs.Iterable):
+            return type(value)(cast(param, v) for v in value)
+        else:
+            return value
+
+    # Copy state assigned to params (and cast tensors to appropriate types).
+    # State that is not assigned to params is copied as is (needed for
+    # backward compatibility).
+    new_states = defaultdict(dict)
+    for k, v in state_dict.items():
+        if k in id_map:
+            param = id_map[k]
+            new_states[param] = cast(param, v)
+        else:
+            new_states[k] = v
+
+    optimzier.state.update(new_states)
+
+
+def sharded_optimizer_loading_epilogue(optimizer: Optimizer):
+    # Do the cleaning up as in src code of Pytorch.
+    optimizer._hook_for_profile()    # To support multiprocessing pickle/unpickle.
+    optimizer.defaults.setdefault('differentiable', False)
+
+
 # ======================================
 # Helper functions for saving state dict
 # ======================================
@@ -203,6 +344,18 @@ def save_state_dict(state_dict: dict, checkpoint_file_path: str, use_safetensors
         torch.save(state_dict, checkpoint_file_path)
 
 
+def save_param_groups(state_dict: dict, group_file_path: str) -> None:
+    """
+    Save information of param_groups to given file path.
+
+    Args:
+        state_dict (dict): state dict.
+        group_file_path (str): path to the group file.
+    """
+    param_groups = state_dict["param_groups"]
+    torch.save(param_groups, group_file_path)
+
+
 def save_dtensor(name: str, tensor: torch.Tensor, index_file: "CheckpointIndexFile", use_safetensors: bool) -> None:
     """
     Save distributed tensor to checkpoint. This checkpoint will be a dictionary which contains
@@ -392,28 +545,44 @@ def load_state_dict(checkpoint_file_path: Path):
         return torch.load(checkpoint_file_path)
 
 
-def add_variant(weights_name: str, variant: Optional[str] = None) -> str:
-    if variant is not None and len(variant) > 0:
+def add_prefix(weights_name: str, prefix: Optional[str] = None) -> str:
+    if prefix is not None and len(prefix) > 0:
         splits = weights_name.split(".")
-        splits = splits[:-1] + [variant] + splits[-1:]
+        splits = splits[:-1] + [prefix] + splits[-1:]
         weights_name = ".".join(splits)
 
     return weights_name
 
 
-def get_base_filenames(variant: str = None, use_safetensors: bool = False):
+def get_model_base_filenames(prefix: str = None, use_safetensors: bool = False):
     """
-    generate base weight filenames
+    generate base model weight filenames
     """
     weights_name = SAFE_WEIGHTS_NAME if use_safetensors else WEIGHTS_NAME
-    weights_name = add_variant(weights_name, variant)
+    weights_name = add_prefix(weights_name, prefix)
 
     save_index_file = SAFE_WEIGHTS_INDEX_NAME if use_safetensors else WEIGHTS_INDEX_NAME
-    save_index_file = add_variant(save_index_file, variant)
+    save_index_file = add_prefix(save_index_file, prefix)
 
     return weights_name, save_index_file
 
 
+def get_optimizer_base_filenames(prefix: str = None):
+    """
+    generate base optimizer state filenames
+    """
+    states_name = STATES_NAME
+    states_name = add_prefix(states_name, prefix)
+
+    save_index_file = STATES_INDEX_NAME
+    save_index_file = add_prefix(save_index_file, prefix)
+
+    param_group_file = GROUP_FILE_NAME
+    param_group_file = add_prefix(param_group_file, prefix)
+
+    return states_name, save_index_file, param_group_file
+
+
 def get_shard_filename(weights_name: str, idx: int):
     """
     get shard file name
diff --git a/tests/test_checkpoint_io/test_general_checkpoint_io.py b/tests/test_checkpoint_io/test_general_checkpoint_io.py
index 9e973bb23..88e3673c1 100644
--- a/tests/test_checkpoint_io/test_general_checkpoint_io.py
+++ b/tests/test_checkpoint_io/test_general_checkpoint_io.py
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ def test_unsharded_checkpoint(use_safetensors: bool):
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize('use_safetensors', [True, False])
-def test_sharded_checkpoint(use_safetensors: bool):
+def test_sharded_model_checkpoint(use_safetensors: bool):
     # create a model and optimizer
     model = resnet18()
     optimizer = Adam(model.parameters(), lr=0.001)
@@ -100,3 +100,101 @@ def test_sharded_checkpoint(use_safetensors: bool):
     # check for model and optimizer state dict recursively
     check_state_dict_equal(model.state_dict(), new_model.state_dict())
     check_state_dict_equal(optimizer.state_dict(), new_optimizer.state_dict())
+
+
+def test_sharded_optimizer_checkpoint():
+
+    # create a model and optimizer
+    model = resnet18()
+    optimizer = Adam(model.parameters(), lr=0.001)
+
+    # create test data sample
+    x = torch.randn(1, 3, 224, 224)
+
+    # run fwd and bwd
+    y = model(x)
+    loss = y.sum()
+    loss.backward()
+    optimizer.step()
+
+    # create temp directories for checkpoint
+    model_ckpt_dir = tempfile.TemporaryDirectory()
+    optimizer_ckpt_dir = tempfile.TemporaryDirectory()
+
+    # save the model and optimizer
+    ckpt_io = GeneralCheckpointIO()
+
+    ckpt_io.save_model(model, model_ckpt_dir.name, True, True, "", 10, use_safetensors=False)
+    ckpt_io.save_optimizer(optimizer, optimizer_ckpt_dir.name, shard=True, size_per_shard=10)
+
+    # create new model
+    new_model = resnet18()
+    new_optimizer = Adam(new_model.parameters(), lr=0.001)
+
+    ckpt_io.load_model(new_model, str(model_ckpt_dir.name), strict=True)
+    ckpt_io.load_optimizer(new_optimizer, str(optimizer_ckpt_dir.name))
+
+    # check for model and optimizer state dict recursively
+    check_state_dict_equal(model.state_dict(), new_model.state_dict())
+    check_state_dict_equal(optimizer.state_dict(), new_optimizer.state_dict())
+
+    # continue running fwd and bwd
+    for _ in range(5):
+        y = new_model(x)
+        loss = y.sum()
+        loss.backward()
+        new_optimizer.step()
+
+    # save the newly got optimizer
+    ckpt_io.save_model(new_model, model_ckpt_dir.name, True, True, "", 10, use_safetensors=False)
+    ckpt_io.save_optimizer(new_optimizer, optimizer_ckpt_dir.name, shard=True, size_per_shard=10)
+
+    # create another new model
+    new_new_model = resnet18()
+    new_new_optimizer = Adam(new_new_model.parameters(), lr=0.001)
+
+    ckpt_io.load_model(new_new_model, str(model_ckpt_dir.name), strict=True)
+    ckpt_io.load_optimizer(new_new_optimizer, str(optimizer_ckpt_dir.name))
+
+    # check for model and optimizer state dict recursively
+    check_state_dict_equal(new_model.state_dict(), new_new_model.state_dict())
+    check_state_dict_equal(new_optimizer.state_dict(), new_new_optimizer.state_dict())
+
+
+def test_sharded_optimizer_multiple_param_groups():
+
+    # create a model and optimizer
+    model = resnet18()
+    optimizer = Adam([{'params': model.layer1.parameters()}, \
+                      {'params': model.layer2.parameters(), 'lr': 0.002}], lr=0.001)
+
+    # create test data sample
+    x = torch.randn(1, 3, 224, 224)
+
+    # run fwd and bwd
+    y = model(x)
+    loss = y.sum()
+    loss.backward()
+    optimizer.step()
+
+    # create temp directories for checkpoint
+    model_ckpt_dir = tempfile.TemporaryDirectory()
+    optimizer_ckpt_dir = tempfile.TemporaryDirectory()
+
+    # save the model and optimizer
+    ckpt_io = GeneralCheckpointIO()
+
+    ckpt_io.save_model(model, model_ckpt_dir.name, True, True, "", 10, use_safetensors=False)
+    ckpt_io.save_optimizer(optimizer, optimizer_ckpt_dir.name, shard=True, size_per_shard=10)
+
+    # create new model
+    new_model = resnet18()
+    new_optimizer = Adam([{'params': new_model.layer1.parameters()}, \
+                          {'params': new_model.layer2.parameters(), 'lr': 0.002}], lr=0.001)
+
+    ckpt_io.load_model(new_model, str(model_ckpt_dir.name), strict=True)
+    ckpt_io.load_optimizer(new_optimizer, str(optimizer_ckpt_dir.name))
+
+    # check for model and optimizer state dict recursively
+    check_state_dict_equal(model.state_dict(), new_model.state_dict())
+    check_state_dict_equal(optimizer.state_dict(), new_optimizer.state_dict())