The effect of particle size on the gasification performance of a pilot-scale (25 kg/h) downdraft fixed bed gasification system was investigated using prunings from peach trees at five different size fractions (below 1, 1-2, 2-4,4-6 and 6-8 cm). The gas and hydrocarbon compositions were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS), respectively. With increasing particle size, gas yield increased while tar and dust content decreased. The lower heating value of the gas decreased slightly with particle size. At a smaller particle size, more hydrocarbons were detected in the producer gas. Hydrogen and carbon dioxide contents increased with the decrease in particle size, reaching 16.09% and 14.36% at particle size below 1 cm, respectively. Prunings with a particle size of 12 cm were favorable for gasification in the downdraft gasifier used in this study. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.