The organic geochemical characteristics of hydrogen-rich coal in southern China were investigated synthetically through organic geochemistry and carbon isotope analyses.The results showed that the hydrogen contents of the test samples were more than 5.0% and the H/C atomic ratios were between 0.76-1.06.Samples were found to be composed mostly of Type Ⅱ-Ⅲ kerogen,consistent with good hydrocarbon-generation potential.The Ro (0.54-1.10%) and Tmax (430-453℃) values imply that the hydrogen-rich coals were in low maturity to mature stages.Stable carbon isotopic ratios(δ13Corg) of the samples used varied from-24.5‰ to-23.4‰,the barkinite content ranging from 13.9% to 83.3%,indicating a predominantly terrestrial origin with marine influence during coal formation.Some organic geochemical parameters showed corresponding changes as the hydrogen content increased from 5.0% to 7.0%,however,the source inputs changed significantly when hydrogen content was greater than 6.0%.Terrestrial higher plants gradually become predominant within the coal-forming materials,whereas this dominant position is not apparent at lower hydrogen contents,which is attributable to the strong seawater effect during the hydrogen-rich coal formation process.