The paper describes briefly the petrographic characteristics of coals in major coal-forming periods in China, especially the inherent correlations between the petrographic constituents, and the chemical and technological properties of coals. The study of coal petrography in China Coal Research Institute (CCRI) has been successfully applied to coal classification, combustion and liquefaction, and prediction of coke quality, as well as coal structure with the aid of maceral separation. It is shown that attention is paid in CCRI to the effect of petrographic composition on coal utilization processes. All the activities have laid a foundation for joining international trade and classification of coals. It is shown that the petrographic method is the most convenient method to identify the quality of coal products, and is applied to the coal research and market at present. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.