The present study describes the numerical investigations concerning the combustion enhancement when a cavity is used for the hydrogen fuel injection through a transverse slot nozzle into a supersonic hot air stream. The cavity is of interest because recirculation flow in cavity would provide a stable flame holding while enhancing the rate of mixing or combustion. Several inclined cavities with various aft wall angle, offset ratio and length are evaluated for reactive flow characteristics. The cavity effect is discussed from a viewpoint of total pressure loss and combustion efficiency. The combustor with cavity is found to enhance mixing and combustion while increasing the pressure loss, compared with the case without cavity. But it is noted that there exists an appropriate length of cavity regarding the combustion efficiency and total pressure loss. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.