Abstract: To study the influence of the roughness of cooling tower surface on the flow characteristics, a rigid model of a hyperbolic cooling tower covered with wallpaper was measured in a wind tunnel. The wallpaper was selected by comparing the tested pressure distribution at throat position with that of the load code. Then we studied the wind pressure distribution on the entire model that is covered with the selected wallpaper. The results show that the largest pressure appeared at the throat position. Drag coefficient exceeded the standard value, and was larger at both ends than that in the middle. Mean and fluctuating wind pressure distribution at the edges of the cooling tower shows a significant three-dimensional effect. For cooling tower wind resistance design, it is necessary to focus on the reinforcement of edges.