A six-axis femoral load cell was designed, fabricated, calibrated and tested in an ATD upper leg. It has linear characteristics with adequate output and dynamic response. Its output compared well with that of load cells mounted behind a knee bolster which was impacted by an ATD instrumented with this load cell. Although the axial load was found to be well below the present limit of FMVSS208, the bending moments were found to be high. A conservative tolerance limit for axial load should be considered and cadaver data are required.