This paper presents investigations into the impact of oxy-fuel combustion on flame characteristics through the application of digital imaging and image processing techniques. The characteristic parameters of the flame are derived from flame images that are captured using a vision-based flame monitoring system. Experiments were carried out on a 0.5 MWth coal combustion test facility. Different flue gas recycle ratios and furnace oxygen levels were created for two different coals. The characteristics of the flame and the correlation between the measured flame parameters and corresponding combustion conditions are described and discussed. The results show that the flame temperature decreases with the recycle ratio for both test coals, suggesting that the flame temperature is effectively controlled by the flue gas recycle ratio. The presence of high levels of CO2 at high flue gas recycle ratios may result in delayed combustion and thus has a detrimental effect on the flame stability. (C) 2009 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.