Oxygen enriched combustion (OEC) is potential to improve emissions, thermal efficiency and brake power output of diesel engine. The purpose of this investigation is to study whether it is feasible to apply water diesel emulsion to mitigate the increasing NOx caused by OEC with comparable BSFC and power output. Effect of OEC on particle size and number concentration was also analyzed in this paper. Oxygen concentration of intake air varied from 21% to 24% by volume. Water content in tested fuels was 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% by volume respectively. The result indicated that lower BSFC, higher cylinder pressure and shorter ignition delay were observed when OEC was applied, while opposite trends were found when using WDE. Reduction of PM and NOx can be realized simultaneously by applying OE combined with WDE. Particle number concentration of nucleation mode increases with increasing oxygen concentration, while that of accumulation mode decreases. Optimal operating condition was realized when water content in emulsion was below 20% along with low oxygen enrichment. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.