Two different analytical methods, the first-order paraxial approximation method and the nonparaxial ray tracing method, are applied to determine the steering mechanism of the Risley prism system, including the pointing prediction and the complete and exact inverse orientation solutions. The analytical results obtained with the two different methods are investigated in detail about the pointing prediction and the two groups of inverse orientation solutions, respectively. Risley prism equipment for wide angular range beam scanning is assembled and the experimental setup is built to test the steering mechanism of the Risley prism system. Experimental results validate the availability of the nonparaxial ray tracing method to discuss the beam steering mechanism for the Risley prism system.