The ICC says its "primary target" is being added to the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
It would end a 128-year wait for the sport to be included, following its only previous appearance in the 1900 Games in Paris.
The sport will feature as a women's event in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
ICC chair Greg Barclay says the "sport is united behind this bid" and that the Olympics are part of cricket's "long-term future".
"We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 per cent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics," said Barclay.
