The hydroliquefaction of coal has been investigated in a stirred batch reactor at a constant temperature (T = 430 °C) in the presence of tetralin/naphthalene mixtures. Runs were done under either a nitrogen or a hydrogen atmosphere. The pressure was kept constant during the run at a value of either 66 or 110 bar. The tetralin/coal weight ratio ranged between 6.5 and 20.3. Each run lasted =450 min. The experimental results are analyzed by a kinetic model which accounts for the essential features of the coal depolymerization and of the reactions involving the donor. Due to the fact that large tetralin/coal weight ratios were adopted, it is possible to establish the relative importance of the reactions involving the donor itself and those involving donor and coal. The rate constants entering the model are calculated by regressing the experimental data. The analytic equations obtained from the model seem to fit the data satisfactorily.