The ac impedance spectroscopy measurements are predominantly taken by using impedance analyzers based on analog auto-balancing bridge. However, those bench-top analyzers are generally complicated, bulky and expensive, thus limiting their usage in industrial field applications. This paper presents the development of a compact wideband precision measurement system based on digital auto-balancing bridge. The methods of digital auto-balancing bridge and digital lock-in amplifier are analyzed theoretically. The overall design and several key sections including null detector, direct digital synthesizer-based sampling clock, and digital control unit are introduced in detail. The results show that the system achieves a basic measurement accuracy of 0.05% with a frequency range of 20 Hz-2 MHz. The advantages of versatile measurement capacity, fast measurement speed, small size and low cost make it quite suitable for industrial field applications. It is demonstrated that this system is practical and effective by applying in determining the impedance-temperature characteristic of a motor starter PTC thermistor.