Presented in this dissertation is a new method of identifying the critical speed of rotor-bearing systems without actually reaching at the critical speed itself. Using the method, it is possible to calculate the critical speed by measuring a series of rotor responses at much lower rotating speeds away from and without reaching at the critical speed of the system. In the course of the procedures illustrated, not only the critical speed but also the damping ratio and the eccentricity of the system can be identified at the same time. Test rotor was tested on the Rotor Dynamics Test Facility at the Korea Institute of Machinery ＆ Materials. Korea, and the theory has been confirmed experimentally. The method can be adopted to monitor changes of the dynamic characteristics of critical rotating machinery before and after overhauls, repairs, exchanges of various parts, or to detect trends or direction of subtle changes in the dynamic characteristic parameters over a long periods of time.