A combined-cycle power system based on oxygen-blown coal partial gasification is proposed to promote the performance and reduce the investment of conventional integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power system. The proposed power system combines the characteristics of IGCC and pressurized fluidized-bed cycle power systems, and its performance is analyzed. The thermal efficiency of the proposed power system is about 3% higher than that of the reference system. Exergy analysis is also performed to reveal the internal phenomenon of the energy conversion. It is found that the main character of the proposed power system is the reduction of exergy destruction during chemical energy conversion processes, i.e., the gasification process and the syngas combustion process. Such a result implies the proposed power system can realize better utilization of the coal chemical energy. Some other configurations of the proposed power system are also considered for varying the work conditions or for further adaptation to state-of-the-art technology. The primary investment cost of the proposed power system is also reduced due to the decrease in the gasification temperature and the carbon conversion ratio. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.