A cylindrical constant-volume combustion chamber was used to investigate the flow characteristics at the spark electrode gap and the combustion characteristics of an inhomogeneous charge methane-air mixture under several parameters such as stratified pattern, initial charge pressure, ignition time and the excess air ratio of the initial charge mixture. Flow characteristics including mean velocity and turbulence intensity were analyzed by a hot-wire anemometer. The combustion pressure development, measured by a piezo-electric pressure transducer, was used to investigate the effect of initial charge pressure, excess air ratio and ignition times on combustion pressure and combustion duration. It was found that the mean velocity and turbulence intensity had the maximum value around 200-300 ms and then decreased gradually to near-zero value at 3000 ms. For the stratified patterns, the combustion rate under the rich injection (RI) condition was the fastest. Under the initial charge conditions, the second mixture was accompanied by an increase in the combustion rate, and that the higher the mass which is added in the second stage injection, the faster the combustion rate.