A bstract: In all presented analyses of the normalized subband adaptive filter (NSAF) algorithm, there is a common assumption that the length of the adaptive filter is equal to that of the unknown system. In many practices, however, the adaptive filter usually works in an under-modeling situation. Namely, the length of the adaptive filter is less than that of the unknown system. Therefore, for this case, the existing analysis results for the NSAF algorithm are not applicable. In this paper, we analyze the performance of the deficient length NSAF algorithm based on some reasonable assumptions and approximations. More precisely, the expressions that characterize the transient-state and steady-state mean-square behavior of the algorithm are presented. Simulation results in various scenarios support our theoretical expressions. In addition, based on our analyses, a variable step size NSAF algorithm suitable for the under-modeling case is developed, which improves the performance.