1. Altogether about one hundred specimens of coal from 19 different provinces of China proper and two specimens from Mongolia were studied. In quality, these coals vary from lignite to anthracite, and in age they belong to different formations of Tertiary, Cretaceous, Jurassic and Permo-Carboniferous. 2. Four methods of investigation, namely, the thin section, the polished section, the maceration and the etching have been used in the present investigation.3. A great number of vegetable tissues and organs such as parenchymatos cells, stone cells, wood tracheids, scalariform tracheids, bast fiber, bark parenchyma, epidermal cells sometimes with cell contents, cork cells, fungi hyphae, sclerotites, spore exines, pollen grains etc. have been detected in the coals studied.4. One of the exceptionally well preserved wood fibers has been definitely identified to belong to Xenoxylon, an index fossil for upper Jurassic formation. This coniferous wood is now known to be widely distributed in the Mesozoic coal basin of Northern China.5. From the presence of fungi activity in the Tertiary coal a rather dry condition for the coal forming period may be advocated. On the other hand, the usually excellently preserved state of the various tissues in the Palaeozoic coals postulates a contrary condition i.e. a wet surrounding and probably under constant covering of water. 1. Altogether about one hundred specimens of coal from 19 different provinces of China proper and two specimens from Mongolia were studied. In quality, these coals vary from lignite to anthracite, and in age they belong to different formations of Tertiary, Cretaceous, Jurassic and Permo-Carboniferous. 2. Four methods of investigation, namely, the thin section, the polished section, the maceration and the etching have been used in the present investigation.3. A great number of vegetable tissues and organs such as parenchymatos cells, stone cells, wood tracheids, scalariform tracheids, bast fibers, bark parenchyma, epidermal cells with with cell contents, cork cells, fungi hyphae, sclerotites, spore exines, pollen grains etc. have been detected in the coals studied. 4 One of the exceptionally well preserved wood fibers has been definitely identified to belong to Xenoxylon, an index fossil for upper Jurassic formation. This coniferous wood is now known to be widely distributed in the From the presence of fungi activity in the Tertiary coal a rather dry condition for the coal forming period may be advocated. On the other hand, the usually excellently preserved state of the various tissues in the Palaeozoic coals postulates a if condition ie a wet surrounding and probably under constant covering of water.