Dimethyl Ether(DME) is an alternative fuel for diesel engine, it is renewable and offers potential reductions in emissions. This work was conducted to figure out the macroscopic behavior and the atomization characteristics of DME using a common-rail injection system. The macroscopic behavior was visualized with the spray visualization system composed of a Nd;YAG laser and an ICCD camera. The atomization characteristics were investigated in terms of axial mean velocity, Sauter mean diameter(SMD) and droplet distributions obtained from a phase Doppler particle analyzer(PDPA) system. In this study, it was revealed that the macroscopic behavior and the atomization characteristics of DME are similar compared with commercial diesel fuel. However, DME fuel has a shorter spray tip penetration and a small SMD due to the effect of evaporation characteristics.