The horizontal fillet joint is one of the most important weld joints in the shipbuilding industry. High-speed rotating arc welding, which can increase the leg length, is an effective way to improve the weld productivity and quality for the horizontal fillet welding. Based on the Taguchi method, the effects of welding parameters on bead characteristics - leg length, asymmetry, undercut, overlap - are investigated fur high-speed welding process. As a result, the adequate welding parameters are selected for the required leg length, symmetric bead and no undercut. Besides, considerably consistent leg length is observed for the horizontal fillet welding with gap variation up to 3mm.