Fluidized bed drying is an alternative drying method of paddy, which offers many advantages over other forms of drying. In this study a mathematical model is developed to simulate the drying of moist paddy in a cross-flow continuous fluidized bed dryer (CFCFBD). The model is based on the differential equations, which are obtained by applying the momentum, mass and energy balances to each element of the dryer and also on the drying properties of paddy. The proposed model is solved by writing a computer program, which takes the operating conditions as input and gives the hydrodynamic properties as well as the variation of moisture content of paddy through the dryer as output. Different fluidizing characteristics of paddy, needed in the program, are determined from the drying experiments in the literature. Some experimental data of CFCFBD are used to validate the predictions of the model. The predictions of the model show good agreement with experimental results. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.