The aim of present study was to evaluate the torque characteristics of stainless steel orthodontic wires. Forty six rectangular stainless wires were tested. Torque testing was performed by stepwise twisting of the rectangular wires to increasing values of torsion using a torquemeter. The wire was clamped at one end and gripped at the other end by a torquemeter. As the rotating torquemeter turned by step motor controlled by computer, the resulting torque from 0° to 90° was recorded. Five measurements were performed at each experimental group. The data were analyzed using t-test and Newman-Keuls multiple comparisons test (p=0.05). All experimental groups showed the clinically effective torque value ranged of 5-20 Nㆍ㎜ Torque of wires increased with the increasing of dimensions (p<0.05). Correlation of dimension of wires and torque became high at twist angle above 30°. There were no significant difference in torque between wire manufacturers with same dimensions (p>0.05). Among the 3 different types (standard, resilient, HI-T) of wire, the resilient wire showed the highest torque whereas the HI-T wire showed the lowest torque. All experimental groups showed proper torque for clinical applications at twist angle above 30°.