Spray characteristics of high pressure injectors for diesel engines have been experimentally studied with special emphasis on the effect of swirl. A constant volume chamber was rotated in order to generate a continuous swirl having the flow field of a solid body rotation, resulting in the linear dependance of the swirl number on the rotating speed of the chamber. Emulsified fuel is injected into the chamber and the developing process of fuel sprays is visualized. The fuel spray developing process in D.I. diesel engine was investigated by this liquid injection technique. The effect of swirl on the spray tip penetration is quantified through modelling. Results show that the spray tip penetration is qualitatively different for low and high pressure injections. For high pressure injection case, a good agreement is achieved between the experimental results and the modeling accounting the effect of swirl. For low pressure injection, a reasonable agreement is obtained. It is found that excessive swirl may cause adverse effect on spray dispersion during the initial combustion period since the spray can not be impinged on chamber wall.