In this study, the effects of geometrical and physical factors on light particles dispersion in stirred tank were investigated by agitation characteristic curve. The experiments and CFD simulations with discrete phase model (DPM) and volume of fluid model (VOF) were conducted in this paper. Five factors, which include four geometrical factors (submergence, impeller-to-tank ratio, number of impeller blades and baffling mode) and a physical factor (liquid viscosity) were considered. For each factor, the power consumption curve and agitation characteristic curve were drawn to compare the power consumption and mixing results in the stirred tank. Characteristics of the agitation characteristic curves were compared with the previous published literatures and theories. It is found that the agitation characteristic curves reflect the tendency of power consumption and particles distribution well in stirred tank. The good agreement indicates the applicability of the agitation characteristic curves for the study of light particles distribution in stirred tank. (C) 2019 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.