Hard (Shengli, SL) and soft (Zhaotong, ZT) lignite by high temperature drying processes using hot gas were explored in this study. The results showed that the temperature played a significant role in the drying process. For SL-2 mm and ZT-2 mm, the drying rate at 300 degrees C was 4.4 times and 13.6 times that at 150 degrees C, respectively, which meant that the influence of temperature was more prominent for ZT and the effects of particle size could be reduced by higher temperature. Fifteen kinds of widely used drying kinetics models were fitted with 125 drying tests at 150-300 degrees C with different particle sizes of different lignite ranks. The residual moisture content prediction equation was constructed based on the logarithmic model, which was associated with temperature, initial moisture content, and drying time. The volatile matters, oxygen-containing functional groups, and contact angle were analyzed to show the surface characteristics of products. SL had small changes after drying, while the volatile matters of ZT decreased 5% and the carboxyl group was significantly reduced, the contact angle was increased, and close to or even greater than SL.