This paper presents a study on the design parameters that consider the magnetic saturation effect in a rotor core of a synchronous reluctance motor. Two important design parameters in a rotor are selected to analyze the saturation effect of a synchronous reluctance motor, particularly in a rotor core. The thickness of the main segment, which is the main path of the d-axis flux, and the end rip, which affects the q-axis flux, are analyzed using the d-axis and q-axis inductances. Moreover, the characteristics of torque and torque ripple when magnetic saturation takes place are analyzed. The saturation effect is verified by comparing the reluctance torque between the experiment and FEM simulation.