In this paper, we present the complex permittivity measurement of low-loss substrates based on a microstrip-line-excited split-ring resonator (SRR). Permittivity of an unknown substrate is calculated based on the change in oscillation frequency of SRR caused by the material-under-test (MUT) above the SRR. Theoretical analysis and results of the simulations and experiments demonstrate the microstrip-line-excited SRR can be used to effectively improve measurement sensitivity. Simple equations for measurement of low-loss substrates using SRR are proposed and experimentally verified.