Objective: In this paper, the design and verification of AMBA AXI3 protocol are carried out in a coverage mode analysis using Verilog HDL language. Method: The design of AXI protocol is made according to its architecture specifications, and its functionality is verified using QuestaSim tool. In the AXI protocol analysis, the burst-based transactions, i.e. writing and reading of increment burst have been implemented. Findings: In addition to that the AMBA AXI efficiency is evaluated by calculating performance metrics bus utilization, busy count and valid count. In the entire paper, a verification environment is created for the verification of AXI protocol as a verification IP for modern SOC architectures. Applications: High percentage of bus utilization ensures that the SOC on chip bus is functioning well and makes this protocol as one of the widely used protocols in today’s SOC implementation. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018.