The effects of opening pressure, ambient density, and nozzle diameter on penetration length and cone angle of methanol sprays were investigated. The methanol sprays schlieren photographs were recorded by a highspeed charge coupled device (CCD) camera. The methanol spray characteristics were analyzed. The methanol spray penetration length increases with the increase of the opening pressure. The methanol spray penetration and tip velocity decrease quickly with the increase of ambient density; on the contrary, they will increase with the increase of nozzle diameter. Between 12 and 18 MPa, the opening pressure has little influence on the spray angle and the angle remains nearly constant during the whole injection process. The spray cone angle increases with the increase of the ambient density or the nozzle diameter. Compared with diesel, the penetration of methanol is shorter and the cone angle of methanol is larger at the same experimental condition. The temporal evolution law of Hiroyasu was modified according to the experimental data, and the new correlation describes the methanol spay characteristics perfectly.