The accidents caused by dielectric instability have been increasing in power grid. It is important to enhance the dielectric reliability of a high voltage apparatus to reduce the damage from electrical hazards. To develop an electrically reliable high voltage apparatus, the experimental study on the electrical breakdown field strength is indispensable, as well as theoretical approach. In this paper, the lightning impulse breakdown characteristics considering utilization factors are studied for the establishment of insulation design criteria of an high voltage apparatus. The utilization factors are represented as the ratio of mean electric field to maximum electric field. Dielectric experiments are performed by using several kinds of sphere-plane electrode systems made of stainless steel. As a result, it is found that dielectric characteristics are affected by not only maximum electric field intensity but also utilization factors of electrode systems. The results are expected to be applicable to designing the air-insulated high voltage apparatuses.