In this study, we investigated the effects of EGR rate and engine load on the emission characteristics in a 4-cylinder common rail direct injection diesel engine fueled with canola oil biodiesel (BD) blended fuel. The biodiesel blend fuel, BD20 (20 vol.% biodiesel and 80 vol.% ULSD blend) was used at an engine speed of 1,500rpm. The experimental results showed that with the increasing of EGR rate, the combustion pressure and rate of heat release (ROHR) of three test fuels were decreased, and the ignition delay was extended, the carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM) emissions increased slightly, but the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission decreased clearly. On the other hand, with the increasing of engine load, the combustion pressure and ROHR were increased, and the CO and PM emissions decreased. However, the NOx emission was increased due to the rise of the combustion temperature.