Aerodynamic noise due to interaction between incoming turbulence and rotating blades is an important component in the wind turbine noise. The rod-airfoil configuration is used to investigate the interactive phenomenon experimentally and numerically. Distribution of unsteady pressure on the airfoil surface is measured for different rod positions and airfoil attack angles. Two National Advisory Committee for Aeronatics (NACA) airfoils, NACA0012 and NACA0018, and two wind turbine airfoils, S809 and S825 are investigated. In addition, for low angles of attack, the flow field around the airfoils leading edge is investigated with the particle image velocimetry (PIV). The experimental results indicate that unsteady pressure disturbances on the airfoil surface are related to the rod vortex shedding. Meanwhile, the interaction flow field of the rod and NACA0012 airfoil is simulated with the unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes method (URANS), and the obtained pressure spectra are compared with the experimental results.