A systematical and comprehensive investigation of the material removal characteristics of the electrical discharge machining (EDM) process using various dielectrics as the working fluids was conducted in this work. Five dielectrics, including gaseous dielectrics, air and oxygen, and liquid dielectrics, de-ionized water, kerosene and water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion were used as the working fluids. The whole geometry parameters of the craters, including the recast material in the craters, were precisely determined by metallographic method. The volume of melted and removed material and removal efficiency in different dielectrics were comparatively investigated. By relating the material removal characteristics to the evolution of the discharge generated bubbles in different dielectrics which was done by computer simulation, it seems that the pressure above the discharge point is an important factor that can affect material removal characteristics. The results of this work were supposed to be helpful for further clarifying the complicated material removal mechanism of EDM.