Abstract: Researchers have proposed various techniques for cloth simulation in the last decades. The crucial problem in interactive animation for cloth is how to speed up simulation with a stable system. In this paper, we describe a realistic and stable scheme for cloth simulation based on mass-spring system. This scheme modifies semi-implicit integration used in cloth simulation system with an efficient damping method. Semi-implicit integration methods have been widely used in dynamic simulation because of acceptable speed and stability. However, internal damping forces are generated with respect to rotational rigid motions, which are only depending on relative velocities. Undesirable change in global movement of dynamic cloth could result in damping artifact. We replace the internal damping forces with an optimal damping method which is based on iterative spring damping but the limit can be computed directly. The method provides simple damping parameter estimation and guarantees conservation of global movement. As a result, complex clothes can be realistically and stably simulated in real time. Copyright 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.