Abstract Air density is an important factors affecting the morphology characteristics of long air gap discharge channels. Analyzing characteristic parameters, such as the propagation velocity and angle of the streamer-leader system at high altitude areas is indispensable in studying the discharge mechanism of long gaps. In this paper, optical images and optical power of the discharge channel were captured. The propagation velocity of the streamer-leader system and angle distribution characteristics of the streamer region were obtained.In accordance with the findings, the downward velocity of the streamer-leader system at low pressure ranges from 1×104 to 5×104 m/s. Simultaneously, the velocity decreases slightly under the voltage with a low rise rate, and it is often accompanied by the phenomenon of leader re-luminescence. In addition, the optical images were processed by the pseudo-color algorithm, and the angle of the streamer region of the downward leader head was obtained between 50.3° and 71.6°. The angle of the streamer region is inversely correlated with the voltage rise rate but positively correlated with the gap distance. The results obtained in this paper have academic significance for improving the theoretical system of long gap discharge in high-altitude extreme environments.