In this paper, a multiblock kernel independent component analysis (MBKICA) algorithm is proposed. Then a new fault diagnosis approach based on MBKICA is proposed to monitor large-scale processes. MBKICA has superior fault diagnosis ability since variables are grouped and the non-Gaussianity is considered compared to standard kernel methods. The proposed method is applied to fault detection and diagnosis in the continuous annealing process. The proposed decentralized nonlinear approach effectively captures the nonlinear relationship and non-Gaussianity in the block process variables, and shows superior fault diagnosis ability compared to other methods. (C) 2011 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.