In order to address the problems of poor flame stability, low combustion efficiency and high lean-combustion limit in traditional direct-fired porous media burners, five porous media burners with different pore arrangements were constructed for low-concentration methane (LCM) combustion experiments, and the effects of porous media arrangements, equivalence ratios and flow rates on the combustion properties of LCM were investigated. CH₄ conversion, pollutant emissions and flue gas temperatures were also analyzed under lean combustion conditions. The results show that the E-type gradually-varied porous media burner exhibits the optimal LCM combustion adaptability, which can partially compensate for the interface temperature perturbation and improve combustion stability during LCM combustion. At an equivalence ratio of 0.39 and a flow rate of 50 L/min, the stationary combustion time of LCM in the burner exceeds 140 min and the flame position is consistently maintained at 60 mm. The LCM combustion in the E-type porous media achieves a CH₄ conversion of 99.99% with CO and NO_x emissions of 531 × 10^-6 and 23 × 10^-6, respectively, generating high-quality flue gas with a mean temperature of more than 588 ℃ that can be employed in industrial production. The research results provide an important reference for improving the utilization efficiency of low-concentration methane in coal mines and reducing methane emissions.