AbstractStability of large‐scale coal‐fired MHD channels is studied by (1) linearized stability analysis, and (2) time‐dependent 1‐D analysis. The channel length is 15 m with 600 electrode pairs, and the output power ranges from 220.6 MW through 258.7 MW. Linearized stability analyses show that the Faraday channels operated with fixed loading resistance are stable, whereas the two waves of u and u–a (u, a: gas and sound velocity) become unstable in the Faraday channel with fixed loading factor. Two waves of u and u–a are unstable in the diagonal channel with fixed loading current and the u + a wave becomes unstable in the diagonal channel with fixed electrode current.Time‐dependent one‐dimensional analyses indicate that the Faraday channels with fixed load resistance are smooth without growth of fluctuation. The diagonal channels with fixed electrode current are smooth with no fluctuation, though the linear theory indicates that the u + a wave is unstable. The diagonal channel with fixed load current suffers large disturbance along the latter half of the channel, being consistent with the linearized analysis which indicates that the u ‐ a and u w