The water-carrying property of three flotation frothers (1-Pentanol, Methyl iso-butyl carbinol (MIBC), and 2-Octanol) was investigated by water-carrying rate. In this work, the performance of frothers in a three-phase coal  flotation was evaluated and related to the water-carrying property in a two-phase system. The frother having a high water-carrying rate, 2-Octanol, shows overall faster kinetics and less selectivity for each size fraction due to entrainment through water. The frothers having a low water-carrying rate were more selective for producing low-ash content coal, such as 1-Pentanol and MIBC. MIBC showed better flotation performance for all size fractions in terms of kinetics and selectivity. The three frothers present good correlation between the water-carrying property and fine coal flotation performance.