Abstract: Permutation flow-shop scheduling problem (PFSP) is a typical combinatorial optimization problem. It is known that the existing bat algorithm is not suitable for solving discrete problems. To overcome this drawback, a new bat algorithm is proposed by modifying its code design and initialization. Then, the proposed algorithm is applied to the PFSP. The proposed method is tested by using classic scheduling benchmark problems and compared with standard particle swarm algorithm and quantum particle swarm algorithm. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the others.