New method and device for the on-line measurement of soot concentration in a diesel engine oil are proposed, where the measurement principle is based mainly on attenuated internal total reflection. The detector were evaluated in various ranges of contaminated oils by carbon black particles. It was found that the proposed detector could be well used to monitor the oil deterioration due to soot contamination. Operational range of the detector was found from 0 to 5 mass percentage of soot content. Test results with water and fuel dilution showed that these effects were not remarkable. However, adsorption of carbon black particles onto the measurement surface was considered to be a critical problem of the detector. Effects of particle deposition on the interface was experimentally evaluated with the oil temperature and flow turbulence and discussed throughout this work.