This paper addresses the problem of channel estimation for broadband MIMO-OFDM systems. An improved channel estimator with multipath time delay detection and channel gain estimation is proposed. In the algorithm, we used the correlation of the channel taps and a well-designed adjustment scheme to increase the accuracy of the time delay detection. The most attractive advantage is that the complicated matrix calculation is replaced by search steps which can acquire the channel order and estimate the channel parameters without significantly increasing the complexity of the system. Computer simulation showed that the proposed algorithm can track the time delays adaptively and, consequently, improve the channel estimation performance.