The effect of mixed oil on the drying characteristics of sewage sludge in oil vacuum evaporation systems was studied. The experimental results showed that the drying rate with cooking oil was faster than that with refined oil due to the difference of thermal conductivity and composition of mixed oil. However, the heating value of all dried sludge was enhanced and the moisture content was below 1% due to penetration of oil into the microbial cells in sludge during the drying procedure. TGA analysis of sludge mixed with the refined oil, which had a higher volatility, showed the slope of the primary falling period was sharply declined. The result of DTA analysis also showed that the first peak was higher than the second peak and corresponded with the phenomena observed in the TGA analysis. In the DTA analysis, the temperature of the primary peak and the secondary peak of dried sludge were comparatively lower than those of raw sludge. Therefore, mixed oil could decrease the self-ignition temperature in an oil-sludge mixing system. In case of waste cooking oil, the TGA and DTA results showed similar results to those of raw sludge, but the DTA results showed that the secondary peaks of dried sludge were narrower and sharper than those of raw sludge. Overall, mixing oil could be a principal factor in controlling the drying efficiency and thermal properties of sludge-derived fuel in oil vacuum evaporation systems.