Interest in employing gaseous fuels to internal combustion (IC) engines whether for stationary or mobile automotive applications has gained importance because of the economical, sustainable and environmental technical features associated with their usage. However, the incidence of preignition and knock remains a significant barrier in achieving their optimum performance potential. With the advent of latest technologies, the above barriers are eliminated. One such technique is timed manifold injection (TMI) of the gaseous fuel, which is controlled electronically to precisely monitor the induction of fuel to overcome the preignition problem in the intake. In the present investigation, acetylene was injected in the intake manifold in a single cylinder diesel engine, with a gas flow rate of 240 g/h, start of injection time is 10 degrees aTDC and 90 degrees CA (9.9 ms) duration, operated in dual fuel mode. In order to decrease the NOx emissions from acetylene-diesel engine, cooled EGR was employed. The cylinder pressure, brake thermal efficiency and emissions such as NOx, smoke, CO, HC, CO2 and exhaust gas temperature were studied. Dual fuel operation with acetylene induction coupled with cooled EGR results in lowered NOx emissions and improved part load performance. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.