The Raman spectra and the Raman parameters have been correlated with changes in the structure of carbon materials, and most of the studies have revealed different development of the Raman spectrum. In the present study micro-Raman spectroscopy was conducted on coal bulk samples and on individual coal macerals (collotelinite, fusinite, and macrinite) from a set of Penn State Coal Bank coals of increasing rank to study the variation of their spectral parameters with rank, and considering coal heterogeneity. The spectral parameters that better correlate with the increasing coal rank, for the coals studied are the full width at half maximum of graphitic band (G: at similar to 1580 cm(-1)), the position of disordered band (D: at similar to 1350 cm(-1)), and the integrated intensity ratio of the D band to G band (ID/IG). With increasing coal rank a narrower G band, a shift of D band to lower wavenumber, and an increase of integrated intensity ratio ID/IG are observed. For each coal, the Raman parameters obtained on fusinites and macrinites are similar and differ from those obtained on coal bulk samples and collotelinites. The variation of the Raman parameters with rank is very well reflected on the analyses of collotelinites. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.