Fourier Transform Infrared Photoacoustic Spectroscopy (FT-IR PAS) and multivariate calibration using partial least squares (PLS) has been coupled for the development of predictive models of ash content, volatile matter, fixed carbon and calorific value of coal samples from several mines of Colombia. In the chemometric approach, a novel alternative is proposed to define the complexity and the selection of the models. According to tests and statistical criteria, at a 95% confidence level, the selected models demonstrate their linear character and a true correlation between the reference values and the predicted values. Results provide standard error of crossvalidation (SECV) of 1.22 wt%, 0.78 wt%, 1.08 wt% and 0.75 MJ kg(-1) predicting ash, volatile matter (VM), fixed carbon (FC) and calorific value, respectively.