Char structure is an important factor influencing its reactivity during gasification. This study aims to investigate the changes in char structure during the gasification of brown coal. A Victorian brown coal was gasified in a fluidized-bed/fixed-bed reactor at 800 degrees C in atmospheres containing 15% H2O, 2000 ppm O-2, or 15% H2O and 2000 ppm O-2, respectively. Although the char gasification in 2000 ppm O-2 was mainly rate-limited by the external diffusion Of O-2, the char-H2O reaction was mainly rate-limited by the chemical reactions. The structural features of char at different levels of char gasification conversion were examined with FT-Raman spectroscopy. Our results show that the chars from the gasification in the mixture of 2000 ppm O-2 and 15% H2O had almost the same features as the chars from the gasification in 15% H2O alone when the same levels of char conversion were achieved. Both the thermal decomposition of char and the char gasification reactions could result in changes in char structure during gasification.