To study the difference in pressure pulsation characteristics between full tubular and axial-flow pumps, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) was used to perform unsteady simulation calculation on full tubular and axial-flow pumps based on the RNG k-epsilon turbulence model. The accuracy and reliability of the CFD results were verified by the model test. Results show that the regulars of the inlet pressure pulsation characteristics between the tubular flow pump and the axial flow pump are different. The blade passing frequency is the main frequency of the pressure pulsation in the impeller inlet of the full tubular pump. The pressure pulsation amplitude is great when the monitor points are near the impeller. The pressure fluctuation at the impeller inlet of the full tubular pump is greater than that of the axial-flow pump due to the influence of clearance backflow under the small flow condition, while the pressure pulsation of the full tubular pump is less than that of the axial-flow pump under design and large flow conditions. The main frequency amplitude of the full tubular pump gradually decreases with the increase of the flow rate. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.