Characteristics of hydrodynamics and heat absorption by gas in a directly-irradiated fluidized bed particle receiver (50 mm-ID X 150 mm high) of SiC particles have been determined. Solid holdups of SiC particles show almost constant values with increasing gas velocity. Fine SiC particles (SiC II; dp=52 μm, ρs=2992 kg/m3) showed low values of relative standard deviation of pressure drop across bed but high solids holdups in the freeboard region compared to coarse SiC particles (SiC I; dp=123 μm, ρs=3015 kg/m3). The SiC II exhibited higher values of temperature difference normalized by irradiance due to the effect of additional solar heat absorption and heat transfer to the gas by the particles entrained in the freeboard region in addition to the efficient thermal diffusion of the solar heat received at bed surface. Heat absorption rate and efficiency increased with increasing the gas velocity and fluidization number. The SiC II showed maximum heat absorption rate of 17.8 W and thermal efficiency of 14.8%, which are about 33% higher than those of SiC I within the experimental gas velocity range.