As dust is one of the main hazards generated by coal cutting, understanding the properties of dust generation is essential for preventing and controlling its propagation. This paper therefore aims to investigate the influence of coal brittleness on dust generation. A system was devised to produce dust and the density, uniaxial compressive strength, and Brazilian tensile strength of dust samples were then measured. The results showed that the cumulative proportions of fine particulate matter and respirable dust increased with brittleness, while a declining trend was observed from the mass ratio of total dust to coal sample. B14 (half of the product of compressive and tensile strength) had the strongest correlation with the properties of dust generation, and accounted for more than 95% of B15 (half of the sum of compressive and tensile strength). (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.