Radiative heat transfer in a 77 kWth swirling lignite flame has been studied. The aim is to characterize different particle types present in a coal flame and to determine their influence on the radiative heat transfer. The study combines extractive particle measurements, radiative intensity measurements and detailed radiation modelling. The size distribution of the extracted particles was measured with a low pressure impactor and some of the size fractions were analysed with SEM–EDX. The measured total radiative intensity is compared with the modelled intensity based on the particle measurements in the same cross-section of the flame. The particle properties were calculated with Mie theory and the gas properties with a statistical narrow-band model. The results show that the contribution of coal/char particles dominates the radiative heat transfer in the investigated cross-section of the flame. The methodology applied in this work shows promising results for characterization of particle radiation in flames of practical size.