Efficient decoding of Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) signals can be achieved using the sub-band non-uniform discrete Fourier transform (SB-NDFT). In this paper, the details of its implementation on the ADSP-2192 processor are put forward. The decoder performance in terms of its computational complexity and computational speed of this algorithm, implemented on the ADSP-2192 processor, are compared for different implementations of the SB-NDFT algorithm, with and without optimization for the chosen DSP, ADSP-2912. The algorithm is tested for various types of input signals on the DSP and these are compared with the results from Matlab®. Problems on using other DTMF decoding algorithms that use the conventional discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and the non-uniform discrete Fourier transform (NDFT) are also addressed. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.