In order to study the effect of friction coefficient of the screw conveyor working surfaces on the dynamic characteristics of particles, a three-dimensional discrete element numerical model of screw conveyor was established using discrete element method. The transport velocity of particles, acting torque and acting energy under different friction coefficient were analyzed. The results show that with the increase of the surface friction coefficient, the average velocity of particles has no obvious change, but the fluctuation of velocity increases firstly and then remains stable; with the increase of the surface friction coefficient, the torque and energy acting on the inner cylinder and spiral surface show an increasing trend, and the fluctuation of the torque and energy becomes severer; the torque and energy acting on the spiral surface are much greater than those acting on the inner cylinder surface. Decreasing the friction coefficient of spiral surface might decrease the transport vibration and improve the efficiency of the screw conveyor.