Résumé : In this paper we present a new method for alignment of 3D models. This approach is based on symmetry properties, and uses the fact that PCA techniques have good properties with respect to the planar reflective symmetry. The fast search of the best optimal alignment axes within the PCA-eigenvectors is an essential first step in our alignment process. The plane reflection symmetry is used as a criterion for selection. This pre-processing transforms the alignment problem into an indexing scheme based on the number of the retained PCA-axes. We also introduce a local translational invariance cost (LTIC) that captures a measure of the local translational symmetries of a shape with respect to a given direction. Experimental results show that the proposed method finds the rotation that best aligns a 3D mesh.