Abstract: The invention provides a system (2) for non-invasive detection of the state of hydration in a living specimen, the system including an RF generator/transmitter (416) for emitting RF radiation signals and for transmitting the radiation signals through a tissue of a living specimen; an RF receiver (8) for receiving RF signals transmitted through the tissue, and for feeding the signals to a processor (10) for comparison of relative attenuation of RF frequencies passing through the tissue with a reference attenuation ratio signal, and an indicator unit (12) for providing an output signal representative of the water content level of the tissue. A method for non-invasive detection of the state of hydration in a living specimen is also described and claimed.