Analysis of load on major parts of the tractor power drive line is critical for efficient and optimum design of a tractor. The purpose of this study was to evaluate severeness of the tractor PTO driving axle during rotary tillage operation. First, S-N (stress vs. number of cycle) curve of a PTO driving gear was obtained through the fatigue life test using a PTO dynamometer. Second, PTO severeness was evaluated during rotary tillage operation. Torque measurement system was constructed with strain-gauge sensors to measure torque of a PTO axle, an I/O interface to acquire the sensor signals, and an embedded system to calculate severeness. The severeness of PTO was analyzed using measured torque data during rotary tillage. In the PTO gear life fatigue test, breakage time and bending stress of the gear were measured by tooth widths and torque change during the fatigue life test. The S-N curve showed a good linear relationship between bending stress and number of cycle (life) with a coefficient of determination of 0.97. For PTO severenss evaluation, rotary tillage operations were conducted at two PTO rotational speeds (level-1, level-2) under different paddy and upland field sites with different soil conditions. Results of averaged relative severeness for PTO level-1 and PTO level-2 were 1.96 and 3.34, respectively, at paddy field sites, and they were 1.36 and 2.51, respectively, at upland field sites. The results showed that the PTO driving axle experienced more severe load during rotary tillage at paddy fields than at upland sites, and relative severeness was greater at the higher PTO rotational speed under all of the soil conditions.