15 coal samples were collected from No. 5 and No. 4 Permian coal seams in the Huaibei coalfield, Anhui Province. Inductively coupled-plasma atomic-emission spectrometry (ICP-AES, VISTA-PRO, America Varian) was used to determine the major element composition of coal ash after the ashing of samples at 815℃, and the minerals in raw coal and coal ash samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD, Cu, D/max-1200, Japan). Using these methods, the authors determined the major minerals and their relative abundances in coal and coal ashes. The results show that the major minerals in raw coals are smectite, illite, kaolinite, chlorite, quartz, calcite and dolomite. Pyrite was not detected on the XRD spectra because the coals are very low in sulfur (averagely 0.56%). New minerals in cluding plagioclase and hematite were formed during the ashing process.