Wax precipitation in crude oils can produce problems in production and transportation operations. A novel FT-IR spectroscopy method is described for the determination of the wax precipitation temperature (WPT), and the estimation of the amount of precipitated solid wax material (both crystalline and amorphous) present in petroleum crude oils. A reference model oil system is analyzed using the described method. Comparisons are provided between FT-IR generated data and data generated using conventional analyses for Alaska North Slope, Utah, and Gulf of Mexico crude oils. The FT-IR method is shown to provide comparative results with conventional analysis methods, and offers several advantages over existing test methods.