A fermentation process monitoring method based on kernel independent component analysis (KICA) is proposed, and the method is combined with the characteristics of batch process data with a new indicator being used. The indicator effectively extracts information about the deviation between independent components at each moment and their mean in the intermittent process, which overcomes the effects of disturbance more effectively than traditional indicators. The results of penicillin fermentation detection experiments show that fermentation process monitoring based on KICA with the new index is very effective. This method has a greater ability to detect small faults than traditional methods and a low false alarm rate, as well as giving improved accuracy during the monitoring process.