A novel axial flow impeller with profiled blades has been designed and manufactured using CAD/CAM techniques. The impeller was of diameter D = T/3 and located at a clearance of C = T/3. Its mixing characteristics were measured in two vessels of 100 mm and 290 mm diameter. The impeller power number is 0.22 and its mixing mumber is 48. The flow number and the circulation flow number were determined by LDA measurements to be 0.52 and 1.00 respectively. Comparisons with other axial flow impellers are made and it is shown that the impeller can provide a very efficient means for the homogenization of liquids in stirred vessels.