Abstract: A method of heat-treating particles by contacting within a contacting receptacle particles fed from the top portion of the receptacle with a heated gas introduced from its bottom portion, which comprises(1) moving the particles sequentially from an upper to a lower moving layer portion through a multiplicity of moving layer portions formed by partitioning said contacting receptacle with a plurality of funnel-shaped supporting plates, said movement being effected via porous plates provided in the individual moving layer portions to thereby prevent blocking of the particles,(2) meanwhile causing the heated gas to rise sequentially from the lowermost moving layer portion to upper moving layers to contact it with the particles in each of the moving layer portions, the heated gas being supplied through a gas pipe leading from the gas layer of each moving layer portion to a gas dispersing plate provided in the adjoining upper moving layer portion to disperse the heated gas introduced in each adjoining upper moving