Abstract. In this paper we present a novel procedure for contour-based recognition of partially occluded three-dimensional objects. In our approach we use images of real and rendered objects whose contours have been deformed by a restricted change of the viewpoint. The preparatory part consists of contour extraction, preprocessing, local structure analysis and feature extraction. The main part deals with an extended construction and functionality of the classifier ensemble Adaptive Occlusion Classifier (AOC). It relies on a hierarchical fragmenting algorithm to perform a local structure analysis which is essential when dealing with occlusions. In the experimental part of this paper we present classification results for five classes of simple geometrical figures: prism, cylinder, half cylinder, a cube, and a bridge. We compare classification results for three classical feature extractors: Fourier descriptors, pseudo Zernike and Zernike moments.