Abstract: The catalysis effect of carbide lime, which is a residue in the ethyne production and has a good sulfur-retention property, on pulverized coal combustion has been studied on a thermogravimetric analyzer. It is found that when the carbide lime is added into Jincheng anthracite with a weight ratio of 0.5% in a slurrying process, the ignition temperature of coal is reduced from 582 ℃ to 576 ℃ and the burnout efficiency of fixed carbon is promoted from 91.11% to 92.75%. When the adding proportion of carbide lime is enhanced to 1.0%, the ignition temperature is further decreased to 570 ℃ and the burnout efficiency is increased to 94.39%. However, blending carbide lime with the coal in a dry process gives little catalysis on combustion parameters. In the three experimental coals, carbide lime with a weight ratio of 0.5% has the best catalysis effect on ignition temperature of Jincheng anthracite (maximum reduction by 6 ℃) and on burnout efficiency of Lu'an semi-anthracite (maximum promotion by 5.43%), but it has little effect on the properties of Changguang bituminous coal with a high ash content of 40%.