Abstract: The magnesium preparation process of silicothermic reduction exists the problems of high energy consumption and high cost. Focusing on these disadvantages， a new technology of pellet preparation→calcination→reduction was proposed. In order to control the growth of prepared pellets for silicothermic reduction process， the pelletizing growth characteristics of dolomite pellet and the influence factors on the forming process of pellets are studied. The results indicate that the growth of the pellets mainly follows the coalescence mechanism in the discontinuous pelletizing process. The growth of the pellets mainly follows the stratification mechanism in the continuous pelletizing process. The growth rate of the prepared dolomite pellets increases with the increase of the moisture content in raw materials. With the increasing of kaolin addition， the growth rate of pellet increases. In addition， grinding method has an effect on the growth behavior of pellets. With the increase of moisture content， the growth rate of pellets also increases accordingly.

Key words: dolomite, briquetting, pellets forming mechanism, pellets formation dynamics, growth rate