The moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) images from 2014 to 2016 are collected in the Strait of Gibraltar (SOG). The temporal and spatial characteristics of internal waves are analyzed statistically based on MODIS images. The optical remote sensing images show that internal waves generate at the east of Camarinal sill, and concentrate at the western Mediterranean. The eastward propagation internal waves have arc-like shape. The temporal distribution of internal waves shows that the majority of internal waves are observed in the second and third quarters. The generation and propagation characteristics of internal waves in the SOG are further studied by Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm). Through the change of surface elevations and isotherms, the interaction between barotropic tide and the sill of the SOG is analyzed. The arc-like eastward internal waves are generated nearby the jaw. The amplitude decreases with the increase of water depth and the strengthening of dispersion effect. The east propagating internal waves disintegrate into a train of rank-ordered internal waves packets in the process of propagation. In addition, the width between the crest lines and the radius of the arc-like crest line increase. The number of inertial wave in the wave packet increases. The simulation results are consistent with the results observed by optical remote sensors.