The study was carried out to investigate the characteristics of vertical velocity distribution measured by current meter at Kangkyung station in Keum river during the period of 1995 to 1997. It suggests the quadratic parabola equation to estimate the vertical velocity profile only from the measurement data of surface velocity. The equation was found to be statistically very stable and showed high significance to express the surface velocity and bottom velocity. The vertical velocity profile was detennined by the relationships to the surface velocity, and a coefficient of the quadratic parabolic equation. The equation was verified to the reserved survey data, and the results were confirmed to be good for the estimation of the characteristics of the vertical velocity distribution. The vertical velocity profile can be applied to calculating the mean velocity and discharge, and to analyse the dispersion of pollutant materials in the streamflow.