The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of clay binder, an important additive, on the performance of iron oxide sorbent in high temperature coal gas desulfurization. The four clay binders chosen for the study were kaolinite, diatomite, bentonite and brick clay. The sulfidation-regeneration cycles were conducted in a fixed-bed reactor. XRD, DTA and FTIR, together with texture characterizing techniques, such as mercury porosimetry and nitrogen adsorption, were adopted to characterize the sorbents and raw materials. The results obtained show that sorbents prepared from various clay binders exhibit different breakthrough behaviors. In addition, a correlation between pore volume and sulfur capacity reveals that sorbents with a greater number of pores larger than 200 nm (diameter), exhibit higher sulfur capacity. The reason for this is that a greater number of large pores can improve diffusion and provide a larger space for relieving heat impact. However, too many large pores may result in weak strength and very low bulk density, thus a balance between large pores and the density must be achieved. This study also reveals that clay binder can contribute to the modification of a sorbent's texture as gas is released when the mineral structure changes during calcination. In addition, a clay mineral with an active interlayer has been shown to be beneficial in improving the dispersion of active components in the sorbent, because of the existence of an interaction between the mineral and red mud. (C) 2012 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.