In this study both the experimental and the analytic approach to find load characteristics on the cam-valve mechanism for matrine diesel engine were demonstrated. The experiment was per-formed with a test rig consisted of real engine components for cam-valve mechanism of overhead valve type. The 9-degree of freedom lumped mass model was developed to simulate cam-valve motion throughly. Behavior of the load acting on the cam-valve mechanism was estimated for the various cam speed. The load variation was getting deeper with the higher cam speed and the jumping of the follower was shown both in the experiment and in the simulation.