Four-stroking is a condition of two-stroke engines where combustion occurs every four strokes or more, rather than every two. Though normal in some instances at idle, extremely high engine speeds, and when letting off the throttle, such firing is uneven, noisy and may, in cases of malfunction, damage the engine if allowed to continue unabated.

Four stroking will occur in a correctly adjusted two stroke engine at full throttle without load when the air-fuel mixture becomes overly rich and prevents the engine from running faster. At such high speeds a mixture that is too lean will cause the engine to over-rev as well as overheat, and in engines running on premixed fuel a mixture that is too lean will cause poor lubrication.

In chain saw operation, where natural fluctuation of chain bite during a cut can cause momentary over-revving, the full throttle mixture is adjusted for four-stroking to occur at a set high rpm, cutting engine speed and enriching lubrication.