In this paper, the power performance of straight-bladed VAWT is experimentally investigated by wind tunnel experiment and field test. The test rotor is two-bladed with NACA0021 airfoil profile. A survey of varying unsteady wind parameters is conducted to examine the effects of blade pitch angle, Reynolds number and wind velocity on the power performance of VAWT. Moreover, the flow field characteristics are obtained through measuring the wind velocity by Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV) system in the wind tunnel experiment and three-cup type anemometers in field test. Power and torque performance are obtained through a torque meter installed in rotor shaft of the wind turbine. Experimental results estimated from the measured values from field test and wind tunnel experiment are compared. In this research, power performance and flow field characteristics are discussed and the relationship between operating conditions and wind velocity are verified. These results provided a theoretical guiding significance to the development of VAWT simplified. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.