This paper presents the effects of a dielectric layer and an electrolyte on the driving performance of an electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD)-based liquid lens. The range of tunable focal length of the EWOD-based liquid lens was highly dependent on the conditions of the dielectric layer, which included an inorganic oxide layer and an organic hydrophobic layer. Moreover, experiments on the physical and optical durability of electrolyte by varying temperature conditions, were conducted and their results were discussed. Finally, the lens with a truncated-pyramid silicon cavity having a sidewall dielectrics and electrode was fabricated by anisotropic etching and other micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technologies in order to demonstrate its performance. The lens with $0.6-{mu}m$-thick $SiO_2$ layer and 10 wt% LiCl-electrolyte exhibited brilliant focal-length tunability from infinity to 3.19 mm.