A series of wet-grinding experiments has been carried out on inorganic powders by a stirred ball mill to systematically investigate the grinding characteristics. The grinding power consumed for a given grinding time was considered, as well as the effect of grinding aids on particle size. The grinding energy consumed, defined as the integral of the grinding power over time, was also investigated. The grinding aids were found to influence the product size and decrease the grinding energy. This is attributed to the prevention of agglomeration and coating of the sample powder onto the ball and grinding chamber wall. The grinding process seemed to be controlled by the force of agglomeration of the ground products. It was demonstrated that the particle size and grinding consumption energy could be decreased by the addition of grinding aids. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.