The influence of coal preheating on the properties of the resultant cokes has been studied using a wide range of coking coals which were carbonized, wet and after preheating, at the INCAR Coking Test Plant operating on a semi-industrial scale. Coke mechanical strength improved by using the preheating process rather than wet charging, except for some cokes produced from coals with a content of volatile matter between 19.5 and 25 wt% db. The most significant differences between cokes from preheated and wet coals were observed in terms of microporosity. Increase in microporosity as a consequence of preheating is accompanied by an increase in coke reactivity. As regards the optical texture of cokes, a slight increase in the total anisotropy and the size of mosaic features was observed.