The non-equilibrium state of microplasma from the mixture of He and N 2 was studied by exploring the rotational and vibrational temperatures of molecular nitrogen under various discharge conditions. At a varying gap distance of 1-3 mm (with a step of 1 mm) from the exit of the capillary to the water surface, the average rotational temperature of N 2 was found to increase from 983 to 1250 K while the corresponding vibrational temperature of N 2 was reduced from 4875 to 3099 K. Consequently, the average vibrational to rotational temperature ratio of N 2 was decreased from 4.96 to 2.48. By widening the capillary inner diameter from 100 to 200 mm, the average rotational temperature of N 2 was elevated from 891 to 1090 K whereas the average vibrational temperature of N 2 was dropped from 4662 to 3646 K and hence, the ratio of vibrational to rotational temperature of N 2 was lessened from 5.23 to 3.34. Moreover, with the addition of more nitrogen into the flow, i.e., by increasing the flow rate of N 2 from 0 to 15 sccm (with an interval of 5 sccm), the average rotational temperature of N 2 was intensified from about 942 to 1404 K, whereas the corresponding vibrational temperature of N 2 was reduced from 5011 to 3254 K. Therefore, the corresponding ratios of vibrational to rotational temperature of N 2 were declined from 5.3 to 2.3. The results demonstrate that the surface area to volume ratio of microplasma and gas conductivity have a significant effect on the nonequilibrium nature of He-N 2 atmospheric pressure microplasma.