This paper is concerned with the simplification of complex linear time-invariant systems. A simple technique is suggested using the well-known least squares method in the frequency domain. Given a high-order transfer function in the s- or z-domain, the squared-gain function corresponding to a low-order model is computed by the least squares method. Then, the low-order transfer function is obtained through the factorization. Three examples are given to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method.