In terms of Darboux transformation, we have exactly solved the higher-order nonlinear Schrdinger equation that describes the propagation of ultrashort optical pulses in optical fibers. We discuss the modulation instability(MI) process in detail and find that the higher-order term has no effect on the MI condition. Under different conditions, we obtain Kuznetsov–Ma soliton and Akhmediev breather solutions of higher-order nonlinear Schrdinger equation. The former describes the propagation of a bright pulse on a continuous wave background in the presence of higher-order effects and the soliton’s peak position is shifted owing to the presence of a nonvanishing background, while the latter implies the modulation instability process that can be used in practice to produce a train of ultrashort optical soliton pulses. In terms of Darboux transformation, we have exactly solved the higher-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation that describes the propagation of ultrashort optical pulses in optical fibers. We discuss the modulation instability (MI) process in detail and find that the higher-order term has no effect on the MI condition. Under different conditions, we obtain Kuznetsov-Ma soliton and Akhmediev breather solutions of higher-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The former describes the propagation of a bright pulse on a continuous wave background in the presence of higher-order effects and the soliton’s peak position is shifted due to the presence of a nonvanishing background, while the latter implies the modulation instability process that can be used in practice to produce a train of ultrashort optical soliton pulses.