Abstract: The relationship between coal consumption and real GDP during 1978-2011 is investigated in this paper from a perspective of business cycle by employing the methods of grey correlation analysis,coal consumption elastic coefficient and energy efficiency econometric model.Preliminary conclusions are drawn as follow:in the different business cycle,energy species which plays the most important role on GDP growth experiences the variation process of "coal-oil-coal";the extensive or intensive economic growth pattern exists in the different economic cycle due to the energy and industry structure adjustment,together with the coal efficiency improvement;it is universal that the high-speed economic growth is inevitably accompanied with the mass utilization of coal.