Parabolic pulse generation by Raman amplification has been numerically and experimentally investigated around 1550 nm using a standard normally dispersive nonzero dispersion shifted fiber (NZ-DSF). The output pulses, characterized in intensity and phase using frequency-resolved optical gating, exhibit parabolic features in good agreement with numerical simulations based on two coupled extended nonlinear Schro/spl uml/dinger equations. The influence of the energy and duration of the input pulse has been studied. The ability of the parabolic pulses to propagate self-similarly during additional propagation over 800 m of NZ-DSF has also been demonstrated.