In this paper the generation and evolution of an edge-wave packet are studied experimentally and numerically. In the laboratory an edge-wave packet is first generated on a sloping beach by a hinge-type wave-maker. Both the free surface displacement and velocity field are measured along several on-offshore cross sections. Numerical results are also obtained by solving the linear shallow-water wave equations and are compared with experimental data. Numerically predicted wave evolution characteristics are in good agreement with those shown by laboratory data. Analyses of the wave amplitude density spectra of both numerical solutions and experimental data show that wave packets are indeed trapped in the nearshore region and consist of a mixture of Stokes and higher-mode edge waves. Furthermore, the Stokes mode dominates in the low frequency range. Two additional wave-maker designs, i.e., the piston-type and the reverse hinge-type, are investigated numerically. Away from the wave-maker the wave forms (time histories) of the wave packets are insensitive to the details of wave-maker movements. The effects of beach slope on the evolution of wave packets are investigated. The behavior of the velocity field and the attenuation rates of runup amplitudes are also discussed. ©1998 American Institute of Physics.