The emission characterization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) emitted from the commonly used residential coal-stove in China was studied, including the partition between the particulate and gaseous phases and the distribution as a function of particle size. Smoke samples were taken by a PUF sampler and a size-segregated sampler through a dilution equipment and analyzed for PAHs using GUMS. The contribution of vapor phase to the total PAHs emitted was very important. The emission factors of 17 PAHs and 10 genotoxic PAHs on a coal-weight basis were 116.65 and 18.41 mug/kg, respectively, greatly lower than the extraction rates of the raw anthracite coal (2514.50 and 1343.56 mug/kg, respectively). The residential coal-stove burning honeycomb coal briquettes was identified as a clean combustion system. Submicron particles dominated the size distribution of PAHs mass, and higher molecular weight PAHs tend to distribute in finer particles. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.