Abstract: A multistage process for drying coal in which coal is passed into a first fluidized bed reactor at a temperarture of 300 to 550 degrees Fahrenheit, air is fed into the first reactor in order to maintain the density of the fluidized bed at from 20 to 50 pounds per cubic foot, and from about 40 to about 60 percent of the water from the coal is removed from the coal and the first reactor. The partially dried coal is then fed to a second fluidized bed reactor which is maintained at a temperature at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit higher than that present in the first reactor, and substantially all of the water remaining in the coal is removed from the coal.