Abstract: By using the whole-rock analysis of organic petrology and thermal simulation experiment method, some indexes are studied, including the maceral composition, hydrogen-rich components and hydrocarbon generation characteristics of brown coal in Huangxian Basin. Brown coal maceral is given priority to the huminite, which are within the range of from 58.0% to 91.6%, the content of inertinite is from 0 to 16.0%, and the content of liptinite is from 2.0% to 18.8%. The hydrogen-rich maceral of brown coal mainly comes from the liptinite, and the main hydrocarbon-generating maceral in which are sporinite, resinite and liptodetrinite. Thermal simulation experiment shows that, with the simulation temperature increasing, the gaseous hydrocarbon conversion rate of brown coal is slow before 450 ℃ and fast after 450 ℃, and the liquid hydrocarbon conversion rate reachs the maximum at 440 ℃ (R_o=1.5%). The gaseous hydrocarbon conversion rate is lower than the one of liquid hydrocarbon before 470 ℃, and it is higher than the one of liquid hydrocarbon after 470 ℃.