Abstract: In order to investigate the influence of ignition energy on explosion characteristic parameters of pulverized coal, the experiment was carried out in the 20 L spherical explosive device to study the influence of different ignition energy on the explosion behavior of pulverized coal. The change law was emphatically discussed about the pulverized coal explosion brisance (the maximum explosion pressure and the maximum pressure rise rate) and the explosion suppression effect of inert medium with ignition energy. The results showed that the explosion pressure firstly increased and then decreased as the pulverized coal concentration increasing with the increase of ignition energy. Under the same concentration, the maximum explosion pressure and the maximum pressure rise rate increased linearly, and the influence of ignition energy on dust explosion pressure was more obvious at high concentration. Moreover, the explosion suppression effectiveness of inert medium decreased with the increase of ignition energy. It was suggested that 5 to 10 kJ ignition energy was the most appropriate to investigate the inhibition effect of inert medium on pulverized coal explosion.