The electrical discharge and operational characteristics of needle and wire-cylinder corona charger based on current measurements for positive and negative coronas were evaluated and compared. A semi-empirical method was used to determine the ion concentrations in the charging zone and at the outlet of both chargers. Results from experimental investigation revealed that magnitudes of the charging current from the wire-cylinder charger were approximately 3.5 and 2 times smaller than those from the needle charger for the positive and negative coronas, respectively. The ion number concentrations at the outlet for positive corona of both chargers were higher than fur negative corona at the same voltage. Flow and electric fields in the charging zone of both chargers were also analyzed via numerical computation. Strong electric field strength zone was identified and led to high charging and particle deposition. Effect of particle deposition on the evolution of discharge current was presented. It was shown that ions loss inside the wire-cylinder charger was higher than the needle charger The particle deposited on the corona electrodes and on the grounded cylinder caused a great reduction in charging efficiency of both chargers.