The measurement setup for studying changes of electric permittivity induced in liquids by a strong electric field nonlinear dielectric effect, (NDE) is presented. The construction is based on the idea of frequency modulation of an LC generator (with an inductance L and a capacitance C in resonant circuit), proposed by Malecki [J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. II72, 104 (1976)]. The strong electric field is applied in the form of rectangular pulses (typically 1–4 ms). The setup enables measurements in a broad range of frequencies (80 kHz–12 MHz) and contains a new calibrating system, minimizing the influence of systematic error on the measured NDE values. We also indicate menthol as a standard, reference liquid in NDE studies. New applications of the NDE technique for studying relaxation processes in critical solution are also presented. They are based on the time resolved analysis of NDE decay after switching off the strong electric field. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.