A broadband external cavity tunable laser is realized by using a broad-emitting spectral InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) gain device. A tuning range of 69 nm with a central wavelength of 1056 nm, is achieved at a bias of 1.25 kA/cm2 only by utilizing the light emission from the ground state of QDs. This large tunable range only covers the QD ground-state emission and is related to the inhomogeneous size distribution of QDs. No excited state contributes to the tuning bandwidth. The application of the QD gain device to the external cavity tunable laser shows its immense potential in broadening the tuning bandwidth. By the external cavity feedback, the threshold current density can be reduced remarkably compared with the free-running QD gain device. A broadband external cavity tunable laser is realized by using a broad-emitting spectral InAs / GaAs quantum dot (QD) gain device. A tuning range of 69 nm with a central wavelength of 1056 nm is achieved at a bias of 1.25 kA / cm2 only by utilizing the light emission from the ground state of QDs. This large tunable range only covers the QD ground-state emission and is related to the inhomogeneous size distribution of QDs. No application of the QDs. gain device to the external cavity tunable laser shows its immense potential in broadening the tuning bandwidth. By the external cavity feedback, the threshold current density can be reduced remarkably compared with the free-running QD gain device.