A two-dimensional circular cylinder freely falling in a channel has been simulated by using immersed boundary - lattice Boltzmann method (IB-LBM) in order to analyze the characteristics of motion originated by the interaction between the fluid flow and the cylinder. The wide range of the solid/fluid density ratio has been considered to identify the effect of the solid/fluid density ratio on the motion characteristics such as the falling time, the transverse force and the trajectory in the streamwise and transverse directions. In addition, the effect of the gap between the cylinder and the wall on the motion of a two-dimensional freely falling circular cylinder has been revealed by taking into account a various range of the gap size. As the cylinder is close to the wall at the initial dropping position, vortex shedding in the wake occurs early since the shear flow formed in the spacing between the cylinder and the wall drives flow instabilities from the initial stage of freely falling. In order to consider the characteristics of transverse motion of the cylinder in the initial stage of freely falling, quantitative information about the cylinder motion variables such as the transverse force, trajectory and settling time has been investigate.