In order to study the effect of moisture content on the combustion characteristics of coal, taking the bituminous coal from Zhujixi Coal Mine as the research object, the method uses cone calorimeter to test the parameters of ignition time, heat release rate, total heat release, smoke generation rate, total smoke release and CO generation rate of coal samples with different moisture content and analyzes the combustion efficiency of coal samples. The experimental results show the following points. ① The ignition time of coal samples decreases first and then increases with the increase of moisture content. The order of moisture content of coal samples corresponding to ignition time from long to short is 17.82%>13.82%>1.82%>5.82%>9.82%. The peak heat release rate of the coal sample decreases first, then increases and then decreases with the increase of water content. The order of moisture content of coal samples corresponding to peak heat release rate from large to small is 9.82%>1.82%>5.82%>13.82%>17.82%. The total heat release, smoke generation rate, and total smoke release of coal samples decrease first, then increase and then decrease with the increase of water content. The order of the moisture content of coal samples corresponding to the total heat release, smoke generation rate, and total smoke release from large to small is 1.82%>9.82%>5.82%>13.82%>17.82%. In the late stage of combustion process, the coal sample with 5.82% moisture content has the lowest CO generation rate, and the coal sample with 17.82% moisture content has the highest CO generation rate. The high moisture content will increase the CO yield. The order of the moisture content of coal samples corresponding to the combustion efficiency from high to low is 9.82%>5.82%>1.82%>13.82%>17.82%. ② Appropriate moisture content can improve the combustion performance of coal. It is suggested to choose the coal with moisture content of 5.82% to 9.82% so as to shorten the coal ignition time, reduce the smoke generation rate, total smoke release and CO generation rate, and improve the heat release rate and combustion efficiency.