In this thesis, the design and implementation of an automated rule based visual printed circuit board (PCB) inspection system are presented. The developed system makes use of mathematical morphology based image processing algorithms. This system is designed for the detection of the PCB defects related to the conducting structures on the PCBs. For this purpose, four new algorithms, three of which are defect detection algorithms, are designed, and an already existing algorithm is modified for its implementation in our system. The designed defect detection algorithms respectively verify the minimum conductor trace width, minimum land width, and the minimum conductor trace spacing requirements on digital binary PCB images. The implementation of a prototype system is made in our image processing laboratory and the necessary computer programs are developed. These programs control the image processor and apply the defect detection algorithms to discrete binary PCB test images.