The diesel-methanol dual-fuel (DMDF) combustion mode is conducted on a six-cylinder, turbo-charged, inter-cooled diesel engine. In DMDF mode, methanol is injected into the intake pipe to premix methanol and air, and then ignited by the direct-injected diesel in cylinder. This study is aimed to investigate the effects of rapid burning characteristics on the vibration performance of the DMDF engine. The experimental results show that the combustion process of the DMDF engine can be divided into two phases. The rapid burning characteristics, the centroid angle of rapid burning (alpha) and the rapid burning fraction (beta) have important influence on the vibration characteristics of the DMDF engine. The co-combustion rate (CCR) and engine load affect beta greatly, and diesel injection timing also affects alpha and beta greatly. However, the diesel injection pressure has little effect on rapid burning characteristics. By means of optimized diesel injection timing and pressure, the vibration can be reduced and the peak value of CCR can be increased. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.