The sintering and slagging behavior of coal ash has an important influence on the thermal efficien-cy,safety and service life of boiler.The sintering characteristics of ash can be improved by adding a certain proportion of additives.The sintering characteristics of raw coal ash and the influence of different additives are studied by using high temperature hot stage microscope,X-ray fluorescence spectrum analyzer and Image J image processor.The experimental results show that with the increase of temperature,raw coal ash parti-cles sinter and melt with each other,and finally all become liquid.Adding proper amount of CaO and Fe2O3 to raw coal ash containing more acidic oxides(Al2O3+SiO2>75%)can reduce the sintering temperature of raw coal ash,and compared with Fe2O3,CaO has a greater influence on reducing the sintering temperature of raw coal ash.In general,the acid-base ratio of coal ash is positively correlated with sintering temperature;the higher the acid-base ratio,the higher the sintering temperature.However,this also needs to be assessed in conjunction with the composition and reaction mechanism of coal ash.