To investigate the causes that led to the formation of cracks in materials, a novel method that only considered the fracture surfaces for determining the fracture toughness parameters of J-integral for plain strain was proposed. The principle of the fracture-surface topography analysis (FRASTA) was used. In FRASTA, the fracture surfaces were scanned by laser microscope and the elevation data was recorded for analysis. The relationship between J-integral and fracture surface average profile for plain strain was deduced. It was also verified that the J-integral determined by the novel method and by the compliance method matches each other well. To investigate the causes that led to the formation of cracks in materials, a novel method that only considered the fracture surfaces for determining the fracture toughness parameters of J-integral for plain strain was proposed. The principle of the fracture-surface topography analysis (FRASTA ) was used. In FRASTA, the fracture surfaces were scanned by laser microscope and the elevation data was recorded for analysis. The relationship between J-integral and fracture surface average profile for plain strain was deduced. It was also verified that the J-integral determined by the novel method and by the compliance method matches each other well.