Drilling sludge (DS) is one of the most important waste generated during drilling activitiesand management of drilling sludge (DS) is highly complicated because of its highmoisture content, complex constituents and chemical characteristics. Treatment, transportationand disposal costs of DS are important issues about the management of DS.Restrictive environmental legislation has led to the optimization of solid–liquid separation.Drying process can be defined as an effective solution to reduce sludge mass and thus toreduce management cost.In this study, conventional and microwave drying of DS were compared in terms ofprocess efficiency. Microwave power levels, drying temperature, drying times, moisturecontent of the DS and energy consumption of drying processes were defined as controlparameters. Microwave power levels of 120 and 700 W and 60 and 80 oC were performedto dry the DS sample for microwave and conventional drying, respectively. The resultsshowed that the microwave drying was more effective than conventional method in theview of drying times and energy consumption.