Abstract: The drying of alcohol sludge was studied in a vibration fluidized bed with inner-heating tubes. Effects of gas velocity，gas temperature，vibration frequency and heating power on the drying characteristic of heat transfer were investigated. The variation of volumetric heat transfer coefficient was analyzed and the optimum operational conditions were obtained. Results showed that a reasonable increase in gas velocity，gas temperature，vibration frequency and heating power could result in the decrease of sludge moisture by increasing the volumetric heat transfer coefficient. A correlation to calculate the volumetric heat transfer coefficient was established based on the experimental data with errors within 30%，which can serve as an important guidance for sludge drying design and operation.