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This work deals with a transmission-reception ultrasonic technique for the real-time estimation of the water content in water-in-crude oil emulsions. The working principle is the measurement of the propagation velocity, using two in-house manufactured transducers designed for water coupling, with a central frequency of about 3 MHz. Water-in-crude oil emulsions with a water volume concentration from <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>0</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> to <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>40</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> were generated by mechanical emulsification. Tests were carried out at three temperatures. The results showed that the propagation velocity is a sensitive parameter that is able to determine the water content, allowing for differentiating the concentrations of up to <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mn>40</mn><mo>%</mo></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> of water. The main motivation is the development of techniques for non-invasive and real-time monitoring of the water content of emulsions in petrochemical processes.