An optical single cylinder diesel engine equipped with a common-rail injection system has been built to investigate diesel combustion and emission characteristics. Three optical widows (piston crown quartz for bottom view of the cylinder, upper piston quartz for allowing laser sheet and liner quartz for side view) have been placed in the optical engine to visualize spray characteristics and combustion process inside the cylinder. Before doing further research using various optical diagnostics with the optical engine, fundamental combustion experiments and flame visualization incorporating a high speed motion analyser have been carried out with a wide range of engine operating conditions.