AbstractRadar target's backscatter varies rapidly because of change in the relative position of each scatterer, body vibration while moving and so on. Weibull distribution is adopted as an inclusive description of the envelope of various targets' backscattering in this paper. Weibull distribution is expressed as a function of two parameters, shape parameter and scale parameter. The parametric meanings are discussed with the distribution curves of different parameter values plotted. The authors find that Weibull distribution with a proper shape parameter can be an impressively good approximation of some existing RCS distribution models. A parameter estimation method is provided. Two examples are shown to illustrate the application of Weibull distribution. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:1355–1358, 2013; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.27557