Compared to transient simulation, steady-state simulation of circulating fluidized bed risers is more efficient, but is also harder to perform due to the complex scale-dependency of dense gas-solid flows. In this work, steady-state computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of a riser is performed using the steady energy-minimization multi-scale (EMMS) drag. It is found that the steady state corresponds to an extremely large scale of length and time, thus the grid size required in steady-state simulation is larger than that in transient one. The time-averaged two-fluid model (TFM) coupled with the steady-state EMMS/1M drag model enables a good prediction of the S-shaped, axial solids distribution and the choking transition, whereas the two-phase turbulence and solids stress models are important in predicting the radially core-annular distribution of solids. So far as we know, this is the first time that one can predict the choking transition in a steady-state CFD simulation. Further improvement may need an EMMS modeling of the time-averaged solid stresses. (c) 2024 Chinese Society of Particuology and Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.