Contrary to the flow rate in fully filled pipe flows, the flow rate in partially filled pipe flows is significantly influenced by the variation of water level, channel slop, and so on. The major difference in these two flows results from the existence of a free surface. To make it clear, in the present study, a similarity of the velocity profile in a partially filled circular pipe has been investigated according to the water level. A particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique was applied to measure the three-dimensional velocity profiles. As a result, there is found a similarity of the velocity profile near the central region. However, near the side wall, the similarity is broken due to the interaction between the wall and the free surface.