A periodic packing mode of trickle-bed reactor (TBR) for the gas limited reaction was proposed. Hydrogenation of 2-ethylanthraquinone over Pd/Al2O3 in a laboratory-scale TBR was taken as a test reaction for determining whether the periodic packing mode is advantageous. The effects of operating conditions and packing type on TBR performance were experimentally examined to demonstrate the cause-effect relationships. A mathematic model of TBR considering axial dispersion and fractional wetting was developed to quantitatively illuminate the reason of performance enhancement.