An accumulator in hydraulic systems stores kinetic energy during braking action, and then that controls hasty surge pressure. An energy recovery system using accumulator seems to be advantageous for ERBS due to its high energy density. This study suggests a method to decide suitable accumulator volume for ERBS. The method is based upon energy conservation between kinetic energy of moving inertia and elastic energy of accumulator. The energy conversion was analyzed and a simple formula was derived. Also accumulator tests were conducted for different load mass and motor speed. A series of test work were carried out in the laboratory and the dynamic characteristics of the hydraulic motor system, such as the surge pressure and response time, were investigated in both brake action and acceleration action and these results show that the proposed design is effective for decision accumulator volume in ERBS.