A numerical study of flow and heat transfer characteristics is made in a double pipe heat exchanger with porous structures inserted in the annular gap in two configurations: on the inner cylinder (A) and on both the cylinders in a staggered fashion (B). The flow field in the porous regions is modelled by the Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer model and the finite volume method is used to solve the governing equations. The effects of several parameters such as Darcy number, porous structures thickness and spacing and thermal conductivity ratio are considered in order to look for the most appropriate properties of the porous structures that allow optimal heat transfer enhancement. It is found that the highest heat transfer rates are obtained when the porous structures are attached in configuration B especially at small spacing and high thicknesses. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.