The present investigation reports results of experimental studies on a centrifugal compressor equipped with hub vane diffusers. The diffuser vane height (h/b) is varied as follows: 0 (vaneless), 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 1 (vane). The experiments were carried out on a low specific speed centrifugal compressor with a radial tipped impeller with an inducer at the inlet. The measurements consist of determining performance characteristics, measuring static pressures on the hub and shroud and flow traverses with a precalibrated cobra probe at the diffuser exit over one passage at five flow coefficients, viz. φ = 0.23 (near surge), 0.34 (near peak pressure rise), 0.45, 0.60 and 0.75 (near maximum flow). The peak energy coefficient is maximum for the hub vane diffuser with an h/b ratio of 0.2. The hub vane diffusers have a wider operating range than the vane diffuser. At high flow coefficients, the static pressure rise is substantially low at the throat region of the vane diffuser as the incidence on to the vane leading edge is very high. The mass averaged static pressure coefficient is high in the low-volume range for the hub vane diffuser of h/b = 0.3, but in the high-volume range it is high for the vaneless diffuser. © IMechE 1997.