The flow patterns in the annular region of a 50 mm annular centrifugal extractor (ACE) were studied using phase particle image velocimetry (PIV), by which the distributions of radial velocity, axial velocity, vorticity, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), and micromixing time of a fluid under different rotating Reynolds numbers were investigated. In the center of the annular region, both the radial and axial velocities of the fluid are close to zero, regardless of the rotating Reynolds number changes. The TKE of the fluid along the radial direction is small at center and large on the edge. The results show that the mixing process mainly occurs at the region near the outer cylinder's sidewall, and the mixing time in this region is less than that in the internal annular region. Besides, the whole mixing efficiency is proportional to the rotational speed when the speed is below a certain level, and then gradually reaches a plateau when the speed is further increased.