Abstract: Combustion characteristics of refuse derived fuel (RDF) coupled with coal were studied in a 1 MW circulating fluidized bed (CFB) test bench. Results show that, the SO₂ emission of RDF-coal mixture 1 is 234.06 mg/m³, while that of Huolinhe lignite is 273.81 mg/m³, indicating that the addition of RDF helps to reduce the emssion of SO₂. When RDF-coal mixtures are burned, the NO_x emission increases with the rise of RDF blending ratio, and for mixture 3, the NO_x emission reaches 350 mg/m³. The N₂O emission of mixture 1 decreases with the rise of temperature. The dioxin emission of both mixture 1 and mixture 2 is lower than that specified in relevant national emission standards.