Objectives To investigate if the radiographically quantifiable new bone would be able to serve as an non- destructive index for predicting healing quality of bone to tendon junction repair in a patella-patellar tendon complex. Methods An established partial patellectomy was performed on 15 mature female rabbits. Patella-patellar tendon (PPT) complex was harvested at 8 (n=7) and 16 weeks (n=8) post-operatively for evaluation of new bone size, length, bone mineral density (BMD), tensile force, strength and energy at failure. Results No significant differences were found in new bone size, length and BMD compared between week 8 and week 16. However, greater failure force, strength and energy were found in week 16 group than that of week 8 group (all p<0.05). The new bone size was found significantly correlated with failure force and strength (p<0.05 for both), but not the new bone length and BMD. Conclusion The findings of this study may suggest that the radiographically quantifiable new bone size formed from the remaining patella after partial patellectomy may serve as a useful non-destructive index in evaluation of the quality of direct bone-tendon repair within PPT healing complex.