As a key component, the design of a micro combustor is critical when determining the performance of a micro-thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system. This study proposes a multiple-channel micro combustor for a micro-TPV system. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model with a skeletal reaction mechanism embedded is established for premixed hydrogen/air combustion in the micro combustors. The numerical simulation results indicate that the temperature distribution along the outer wall of the multiple-channel micro combustor is more uniform and higher than that of the traditional single-channel micro combustor, which is highly beneficial for the micro-TPV system. Moreover, the radiation energy and radiation efficiency of the multiple-channel combustor are higher than those of the single-channel combustor at the same volume flow rate. When the flow rate is 100 cm(3)/s and H-2/air equivalence ratio is 0.8, the mean temperature and the wall temperature difference on the cross-sectional direction for the multiple-channel combustor are 1294.9 and 86.6 K, respectively, whereas those for the single-channel combustor are 1256.0 and 107.6 K, respectively. The radiation energy and radiation efficiency are 53.57 W and 18.84% for the multiple-channel combustor, respectively, and 47.40 W and 16.67% for the single-channel combustor, respectively. Moreover, the high equivalence ratio assignment for the side channels can further improve the temperature uniformity of the multiple channel combustor. Results show that the wall temperature difference on the cross-sectional direction can decrease from 86.6 K to 68.8 K. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.