: The content-based retrieval systems for 3D models on the Web become necessary since digital databases of 3D objects are growing. In this paper, we propose a new method to describe 3D models. This method is based on 3D discrete cosine transform which is applied for the voxelized 3D model. The discrete cosine transform is widely used for 2D image compression and it shows its performance for the JPEG compression algorithm. The proposed descriptor is implemented in our 3D search engine, tested using the princeton shape benchmark database, tested for noise and decimation; and compared to other 3D descriptors known in the literature.