The experimental study was performed to investigate the effects of partial premixing, varying the equivalence ratio, mixing degree, swirl intensity, mixing length on the characteristics of flame structure and NOx emission. Experiments were conducted in a dump combustor at 1 bar using methane as fuel. Inlet air temperature was 570K. OH chemiluminescence images were acquired with an ICCD camera. As a result of the experimental investigation of characteristics of flame and NOx emission in partial premixed combustor, we can conclude the results as below. With the increase of swirl number, The flame length decreases and the flame width increases and it helps flame stabilization. It means that lean flammability limit is extended. With the increase of mixing of fuel-air length ratio, Flame goes to be stabilized and NOx emission and $OH^{ast}$ intensity decrease. Through the comparison of preceding results, It is possible that the exhausted NOx emission from a gas turbine combustor will be able to predict through the $OH^{ast}$ intensity.