We contributed a new VLSI architecture for fractional motion estimation of the H.264/AVC video compression standard. Seven inter-related loops extracted from the complex procedure are analyzed and two decomposing techniques are proposed to parallelize the algorithm for hardware with a regular schedule and full utilization. The proposed architecture, also characterized by a reusable feature, can support situations in different specifications, multiple standards, fast algorithms and some cost considerations. H.264/AVC baseline profile level 3 with complete Lagrangian mode decision can be realized with 290K gates at operating frequency of 100 MHz. It is a useful intellectual property (IP) design for platform based multimedia systems.