Numerical simulations have been carried out to investigate the effect of nozzle hole geometry on the combustion characteristics of the large diesel engine. 6S90MC-C. Spray and combustion phenomena were examined numerically using FIRE code. Wane breakup and Zeldovich models were adopted to describe the atomization characteristics and NOx formation processes. Predictions on the cylinder peak pressure and NOx emission were first verified with the experimental data to confirm the reliability of numerical calculations. The comparison results showed good agreements within the range of 0.64% and 4.6% respectively. Finally, the effects of fuel spray angle and diameter on the engine performance were investigated numerically to find the optimum nozzle hole geometry considering fuel consumption, NOx emission and heat flux of the combustion chamber wall. It was concluded that the combustion gas recirculation in cylinder by changing fuel injection direction is an effective method to reduce NOx emission by about 10% with increasing fuel oil consumption, 1.4% in a large diesel engine.