Liquid distribution plays an important role in determining the reactor performance in a trickle-bed reactor. Radial liquid distribution was studied in a trickle-bed reactor with five different shapes and sizes of catalyst packing in a uniformly distributed liquid inlet. The liquid tends to flow preferentially along the existing filaments where the porosity is high. The introduction of gas flow into the liquid-solid system smoothens the liquid distribution to some extent due to the competition between liquid and gas phases for the interstitial pore space.