A possibility of a more simple and exact representation of the current-voltage (I–V) characteristic of a tunnel metal-semiconductor contact is investigated. Analysis is made on the basis of the approach proposed earlier, according to which the behaviour of the (I–V) characteristics of the Schottky-barrier contacts at low temperatures depends on the nonlinear dependence of the true (or effective for a tunnel contact) barrier height on the bias voltage. A simple equation for the (I–V) characteristic of the tunnel contact is theoretically substantiated using measurable parameters-the ideality factor n and barrier height ϕbm where the quantity ϕbn ≡ nϕbm plays the role of a barrier height. The calculation shows that this quantity is very close to the true barrier height of the tunnel contact (with allowance for the effect of image force) in wide current, temperature, and impurity-concentration ranges.