Abstract: The load from the upper sinter bed is one of the important factors which deteriorate the permeability of the combustion zone in the sintering process, which restricts the further development of thick bed sintering. To reduce the load of the sinter bed and improve the permeability of the combustion zone, the influences of different loads which were coordinated by the height of support stands on the combustion zone and sinter bed were researched. Sintering pot test results indicated that the permeability of the combustion zone and sinter bed was obviously improved after the support stand being installed in the sinter bed and the tumble index (TI) of sinter ores were more than 65%. The velocity of sintering dramatically increased and achieved the maximum value of 28.4 mm. rain-i The yield of sinter ores did not significantly change compared to ordinary sintering process. The sinter productivity increased from 1.89 t·m^-2·h^-1 to 2. 31 t·m^-2·h^-1. The fuel consumption of the sintering process decreased by 1.32%. Theoretical analysis and experiments showed that load reduction sintering process had a positive impact on the permeability of the sinter bed, resulting in the decrease of fuel consumption and the improvement of sinter quality.