Experiments have been conducted in a 40 mm diameter and 1.5 m length glass reactor treating different coals in the size range 53-76 mu m using: anthracene oil as the liquid medium to prepare the slurry to study the suspension characteristics of coal in oil. The variables studied are coal to oil ratio, coal ash, slurry velocity, gas velocity and pressure drop. The effect of these variables on the minimum superficial velocity of gas required to keep the coal particles in suspension have been studied qualitatively and models have been developed for prediction of minimum superficial velocity and pressure drop. Utilizing graphical as well as statistical approach model parameters have also been optimized.