An experimental study of the residence tine distribution and drying characteristics of a continous pilot-plant vibrated fluidized bed dryer(the air distributor plate is 1.50 m in length and 0.24 m in width) is presented and discussed. Operating variables in the study included: vibration intensity, mass flow rate of air, granules feed rate, inlet air temperature and particle size. It was inferred from the experimental results that the flow of particles in the continous VFB could be considered as plug flow. Among the variables considered, vibration intensity was identified as the most significant factor to affect particle mean residence time, particle diffusivity and constant drying rate for the bed of wheat particulates and instant pharmaceutical BYN granules.