The asphaltene from low-temperature coal tar (LTCT) derived from Shanbei has been characterized through combination of conventional techniques, such as elemental analysis, molecular weight analyses, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The chemical structural analysis results confirm the view that asphaltenes are composed of confused aromatic rings bearing heteroatoms and alkyl and cycloalkyl constituents. Compared to asphaltenes from crude oils, the asphaltene from LTCT has lower molecular weight, higher aromaticity, higher contents of heteroatoms (especially oxygen) and shorter aliphatic side chains. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.