We have investigated the propagation properties of Lamb waves and motion characteristic of free moving metallic particle in a gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) tank to diagnose the insulation performance of GIS. We have proposed a new identification technique for defect location in GIS based on the time–frequency analysis of the Lamb waves using the Wavelet Transform. In this paper, we measured the acoustic signals excited by a metallic particle colliding with the tank sheath. Furthermore, we measured the moving particles under a high electric field in GIS using a high-speed video camera. As a result, we examined the relationship between maximum lifting height and the flight time during subsequent impacts of a moving particle. Moreover, we estimated particle size based on the propagation properties of Lamb waves. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 150(1): 26–33, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20023