A REPEAT instruction for repeated execution of an associated instruction (INST.sub.R). Once a program counter stores the address for the instruction to be repeated, it remains unchanged until the associated instruction (INST.sub.R) has been executed the number of times indicated by a COUNT value in a preloaded register, or alternatively, by the REPEAT instruction itself. In this manner, the present invention reduces the number of instruction fetches required to repeatedly execute the associated instruction (INST.sub.R). Consequently, there is a significant improvement in the efficiency of the program code execution.
