This paper introduces the surface roughness parameter, Rs to the characterization of joint roughness and quantitatively illustrates the influence of joint roughness on the joint shear strength. A new peak shear strength criterion for rock joints using Rs is suggested. The results show that the surface roughness parameter, Rs can appropriately reflect the degree of roughness for the rock joint surfaces tested in this study A measuring interval of 2mm and profile length of 5cm can be used to characterize the joint roughness of the rock core size surfaces; however, the scale of fluctuation, $delta_alpha$ should be considered to extend the surface roughness parameter, Rs to the large-scale field rock joint surfaces. For the smooth joint roughness, sliding of the rock cores is the principal shear mechanism; however, the breakage of roughness from the rock cores is inferred for rougher joint roughness.