Two Chinese coals, Shenfu subbituminous coal and Huolingele lignite, were used to investigate the effect of mineral matter in coal on reactivity and kinetic characteristics of coal pyrolysis. The experiments were carried out by using thermogravimetry to check the pyrolysis behavior of raw coal, HCl/HF demineralized coal and demineralized coal with inorganic matter (CaO, K2CO3 and Al2O3) added, respectively. The results showed that inherent mineral in coal had no evident effect on the reactivity and kinetics of coal pyrolysis. CaO, K2CO3 and Al2O3 all had a catalytic effect on the reactivity of coal pyrolysis, their effects were closely related to temperature region and coal types. The pyrolysis process of all the samples studied can be described by three independent first order kinetic model. Addition of inorganic matter the activation energy decreased and the characteristic temperature of coal changed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.