This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation of the scattering of acoustic energy from finite circular cylinders in water. Photographs are shown of the pulses scattered in the backward direction in the plane normal to the longitudinal axis and in the plane containing the longitudinal axis of a cylinder. The echo structure exhibits characteristics dependent upon the corners of the cylinder where there is a sharp change in the slope of the projected area and discontinuities between air, brass, and water. The photographs of pulses returned from the cylinders in the plane normal to the longitudinal axes imply the existence of surface waves which travel around (the) circumferences of the cylinders. Distribution‐in‐angle diagrams of acoustic energy scattered in the plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of solid and hollow air‐filled cylinders were taken for changes in cylinder length, changes in pulse length, and changes in acoustic radii. Length modes of vibration do not affect significantly the energy scattered perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. When pulses, which are long compared to the diameter of the cylinder, are used, the scattered energy distribution is dependent upon the composition and the acoustic radius of the cylinder.