In this letter a new skeletonization algorithm is proposed. It combines techniques of fast construction of Euclidean Distance Maps(EDMs), ridge extraction, Hit-or-Miss Transformation (HMT) of structuring elements and the set operators. It first produces the EDM image with no more than 4 passes through an image of any kinds, and then the ridge image is extracted by applying a turn-on scheme and performing a rain-fall elimination to accelerate the processing. The one-pixel wide skeleton is finally acquired by carrying out the HMTs of two structure elements and the SUBTRACT and OR operations. Experimental results obtained by practical applications are also presented. It combines techniques of fast construction of Euclidean Distance Maps (EDMs), ridge extraction, Hit-or-Miss Transformation (HMT) of structuring elements and the set operators. It first produces the EDM image with no more than 4 passes through an image of any kinds, and then the ridge image is extracted by applying a turn-on scheme and performing a rain-fall elimination to accelerate the processing. The one-pixel wide skeleton is finally acquired by carrying out the HMTs of two structure elements and the SUBTRACT and OR operations. Experimental results obtained by practical applications are also presented.