Shock absorbers have become the most widely used term in automotive suspensions. They are used for the optimization of driving comfort and driving safety. This paper is concerning with identification of characteristics and damping coefficient of the hydraulic shock absorbers of a light weight tracked vehicle under real conditions. Dynamic behaviors of the absorber are studied by both computer simulation and experimental testing. In the experimental testing the force and velocity of the shock absorber are measured on a standard test bench which allow sinusoidal excitation with different frequencies and amplitudes corresponding to road conditions. The simulated model is carried out for the same excitation conditions using ADAMS program. The road roughness is generated in the model using a rotational joint motion applied to revolute joint which is connected to the movable end of the shock absorber. The damping coefficient of the shock absorber is also determined according to the required rate of damping of the vehicle. The predicted characteristic is compared with the experimental results and with those obtained from the computer simulated model.