The transmission performance of DS-CDMA forward link with orthogonal spreading and Rake combining is evaluated under multipath fading environments. A simple-to-use expression for the conditional instantaneous signal-to-interference plus background noise power ratio (SIR) is derived, assuming an M-finger Rake combiner. Using the derived expression, the forward link SIRs of either orthogonal spreading or random spreading can be conveniently computed. The link performance in terms of the average bit error rate (BER) and capacity (the maximum number of allowable users) is evaluated by a Monte Carlo simulation assuming ideal BPSK data modulation. In frequency selective multipath fading, the orthogonality of the forward link is destroyed to some extent and link performance approaches that of random spreading. The extent of orthogonality destruction depends on the multipath channel power delay profile shape and number of resolved paths (for an exponential profile, it is defined as the number of stronger resolved paths that capture 90% of the total received power); so their influences on the link performance are discussed. Also simulated is the distribution of the BERs in a radio coverage area taking into account the path loss and shadowing to evaluate the link capacity at a certain outage probability.