The arc characteristics of submerged arc welding(SAW) with stainless steel wire were studied by using Analysator Hannover(AH). The tests were carried out under the same preset arc voltage combined with different welding currents. By comparing the probability density distribution(PDD) curves of arc voltage and welding current, the changes were analyzed, the metal transfer mode in SAW was deduced, and the characteristics of a stable arc were summarized. The analysis results show that, with an increase of welding parameters, the short-circuiting peak in the PDD curves of arc voltage decreases gradually until it disappears, and the dominant metal transfer mode changes from flux-wall guided transfer to projected transfer and then to streaming transfer. Moreover, when the PDD curves of arc voltage are both unimodal and generally symmetrical, the greater the peak probability and the smaller the peak span, the more stable the arc becomes. The arc characteristics of submerged arc welding (SAW) with stainless steel wire were studied by using Analysator Hannover (AH). The tests were carried out under the same preset arc voltage combined with different welding currents. By comparing the probability density distribution (PDD) curves of arc voltage and welding current, the changes were analyzed, the metal transfer mode in SAW was deduced, and the characteristics of a stable arc were summarized. The analysis results show that, with an increase of welding parameters, the short-circuiting peak in the PDD curves of arc voltage decreases tends to disappear, and the dominant metal transfer mode changes from flux-wall guided transfer to projected transfer and then to streaming transfer. Moreover, when the PDD curves of arc voltage are both unimodal and generally symmetrical , the greater the peak probability and the smaller the peak span, the more stable the arc becomes.