Principal component analysis (PCA) based pattern matching methods have been applied to process monitoring and fault detection. However, the conventional pattern matching approaches do not specifically take into account the non-Gaussian dynamic features in chemical processes. Furthermore, those techniques are more focused on fault detection instead of fault diagnosis. In this study, a non-Gaussian pattern matching based fault detection and diagnosis method is developed and applied to monitor cryogenic air separation process. First, independent component analysis (ICA) models are built on the normal benchmark and monitored data sets along sliding windows. The IC subspaces from the benchmark and monitored data are then extracted to evaluate the non-Gaussian patterns and detect process faults through a mutual information based dissimilarity index. Further, a difference subspace between the two IC subspaces is computed to characterize the divergence of the dynamic and non-Gaussian patterns between the benchmark and monitored data. Subsequently, the mutual information between the IC difference subspace and each process variable direction is defined as a new non-Gaussian contribution index for fault identification and diagnosis. The presented approach is applied to a simulated cryogenic air separation plant and the monitoring results are compared against those of PCA based pattern matching techniques and ICA based monitoring method. The application study demonstrates that the developed non-Gaussian pattern matching approach can effectively monitor the complex air separation process with superior fault detection and diagnosis capability. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.