This paper describes the measurement of mean velocity and turbulence intensity using hot-wire anemometry inside the cylinder of a Diesel engine under motoring (non-firing) conditions. The effects of engine speed and compression ratio on mean velocity and turbulence intensity have been studied. In addition, turbulence scales have also been evaluated using auto-correlation function and power spectrum which are obtained from fluctuating velocity. The measurements were carried out at 4 different locations inside the piston cavity. Mean velocity and turbulence intensity are found to increase with speed. Increase in compression ratio has significantly increased the mean velocity at all crank angles. The main feature of this investigation is that the experiments have been conducted at higher compression ratios and a relatively high speed using a single high temperature straight wire probe. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.