To investigate the suppression effect of charged water mist on gas explosion, a small charged water mist generator and a gas explosion simulation device were designed based on the principle of electrostatic induction. Experiments for testing characteristics of the gas explosion in a confined space under different charged polarities, charged voltages and mist fluxes were carried out. Experimental results indicated that, compared with the normal water mist, the explosion peak overpressure and the flame propagation speed could be more effectively reduced by the charged water mist. And this suppression effect could be promoted by increasing the charged voltage. To visualize the effect of the charged water mist's polarity on gas explosion, comparative experiments were conducted. The results showed that the explosion peak overpressure, the overpressure rising rate, and the propagation speed of the flame were reduced by 64.7%, 33.0% and 19.4%, respectively, when a +8 kV charged voltage was applied. In situation where a -8 kV charged voltage was applied, 64.1%, 26.5% and 16.0% reductions were achieved for the explosion peak overpressure, the overpressure rising rate, and the flame propagation speed respectively. Comparison of this data leads to the conclusion that the gas explosion could be more efficiently suppressed by the positively charged water mist. Crown Copyright (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.