Conventional coal-fired power generation has the problem of limited conversion efficiency and serious pollution emissions. The chemical energy in coal can be converted into electricity through direct carbon solid oxide fuel cell (DC-SOFC) technology with high efficiency. The high concentration of CO2 produced from the DC-SOFC is beneficial for following carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) process, which is a potential high efficiency and clean coal technology. There has been some previous work on using coal-based fuel in DC-SOFCs. However, the composition and structure of coals are complex, and there is a lack on investigating the effects of these factors on the performances of DC-SOFCs using coal-based fuels. To evaluate the feasibility of using coal-based fuels in DC-SOFCs, the key factors affecting the performances of DC-SOFCs using coal-based fuel were studied by comparing the DC-SOFC performance of raw coal, raw coal loaded with Fe catalyst, coke, and coke loaded with Fe catalyst using Xinjiang Hami coal as fuel, combining with EDS analysis of the fuels. The results show that Hami coal from Xinjiang can be used as the fuel of DC-SOFCs. The DC-SOFC using 5% Fe-loaded coke as the fuel shows the best output performance, with a peak power density of 255 mA/cm2 at 850 ℃. Meanwhile, the DC-SOFC fueled by coke shows the best fuel utilization efficiency, with a carbon conversion efficiency of 95% at a constant current of 200 mA under 850 ℃. Obviously, Hami coal is the promising fuel of DC-SOFC, especially when the coal is carbonized and to load a certain amount of Fe catalyst after coalification as fuels, the cell has the better output performance and high utilization rate.