Drilling sludge DS is one of the most important waste generated during drilling activities and management of drilling sludge DS is highly complicated because of its high moisture content, complex constituents and chemical characteristics. Treatment, transportation and 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 to reduce management cost. In this study, conventional and microwave drying of DS were compared in terms of process efficiency. Microwave power levels, drying temperature, drying times, moisture content of the DS and energy consumption of drying processes were defined as control parameters. Microwave power levels of 120 and 700 W and 60 and 80 o C were performed to dry the DS sample for microwave and conventional drying, respectively. The results showed that the microwave drying was more effective than conventional method in the view of drying times and energy consumption.