The performance of dust cartridge filters commonly used in dust masks and in room ventilation depends both on the collection efficiency of the filter material and the pressure drop across the filter. Currently, the optimization of filter design is based only on minimizing the pressure drop at a set velocity chosen by the manufacturer. The collection efficiency, an equally important factor, is rarely considered in the optimization process. In this work, a filter quality factor, which combines the collection efficiency and the pressure drop, is used as the optimization criterion for filter evaluation. Most respirator manufacturers pleat the filter to various extents to increase the filtration area in the limit space within the dust cartridge. Six sizes of filter holders were fabricated to hold just one pleat of filter, simulating six different pleat counts, ranging from 0.5 to 3.33 pleats cm(-1). The possible electrostatic charges on the filter were removed by dipping in isopropyl alcohol, and the air velocity is fixed at 100 cm s(-1). Liquid dicotylphthalate particles generated by a constant output atomizer were used as challenge aerosols to minimize particle loading effects. A scanning mobility particle sizer was used to measure the challenge aerosol number concentrations and size distributions upstream and downstream of the pleated filter. The pressure drop across the filter was monitored by using a calibrated pressure transducer. The results showed that the performance of pleated filters depend not only on the size of the particle but also on the pleat count of the pleated filter. Based on filter quality factor, the optimal pleat count (OPC) is always higher than that based on pressure drop by about 0.3-0.5 pleats cm(-1). For example, the OPC is 2.15 pleats cm(-1) from the standpoint of pressure drop, but for the highest filter quality factor, the pleated filter needed to have a pleat count of 2.65 pleats cm(-1) at particle diameter of 122 nm. From the aspect of filter quality factor, this study suggests that the respirator manufacturers should add approximately 0.5 pleats cm(-1) to the OPC derived from the generalized correlation curve for pleated filter design based on minimum pressure drop.