Flame propagation in a four-valve spark-ignition optical engine was visualized under lean-bum conditions with A/F=18 at 2000rpm. The early flame development in a four-valve pentroof-chamber single-cylinder engine was examined with imaging of the laser-induced Mie scattered light using an image-intensified CCD camera. Flame profiles along the line-of-sight were also visualized through a quartz piston window. Two-dimensional flame structures were visualized with a Proxitronic HF-1 fast motion camera system by Mie scattering from titanium dioxide particles along a planar laser sheet generated by a copper vapor laser. The flame propagation images were subsequently analysed with an image processing programme to obtain information about the flame structure under different tumble flow conditions generated by sleeved and non-sleeved intake ports. This allowed enhancement of the flame images and calculation of the enflamed area, and the displacement of its center, as a function of the tumble flow induced by the pentroof-chamber in the vicinity of spark plug. Image processing of the early flame development quantified the correlation between flame and flow characteristics near the spark plug at the time of ignition which has been known to be one of the most important factors in cyclic combustion variations in lean-burn engines. The results were also compared with direct flame images obtained from the natural flame luminosity of the lean mixture.