The purpose of this article is to determine the heat transfer and hydraulic drag in thin annular pebble beds with axial gas flow and investigate the flow distribution along annular pebble beds with radial flow. The experimental investigations showed that in thin annular pebble beds heat transfer values, equal to those for large (unlimited) pebble beds, could be achieved. The observed distributions of the radial flow in annular pebble beds demonstrated that regulation of flow distribution is possible by changing the permeability of the inner wall (outlet header) of the annular channel.