Abstract: The number of yarn wet snarling per unit length is an important indirect index for the evaluation of yarn residual torque.A computerized characterization method for the yarn snarling distribution was proposed by applying the digital image and signal processing techniques to the actual yarn snarling images.The yarn snarling characteristic curve is firstly extracted,then several Gauss signals would be calculated to match with the yarn snarling characteristic curve.Experimental results revealed that the number of yarn wet snarling can be automatically calculated with a high accuracy by the proposed method,besides,the height and width values of each snarling can also be obtained.