Experimental study was conducted on a four-cylinder four-stroke compression ignition engine, different blending ratios of polymethoxydimethyl ether (PODE_3-4)/gasoline blends were used to realize the compression combustion of gasoline on engine, and the combustion and emission characteristics were explored under different loads. The results show that mixing PODE_3-4 increases the in-cylinder pressure and heat release rate under small load conditions of 0.13 MPa and 0.38 MPa. The heat release rate decreases gradually with the increase of the blending ratio under high load conditions of 0.88 MPa and 1.13 MPa. For the emission characteristics, NO_x and soot emissions gradually increase with the increase of load and both CO and HC emissions remain at a low level beyond 0.38 MPa. In addition, the emissions of soot, CO, HC, benzene and formaldehyde show a downward trend, but the NO_x emission was little affected with the increase of the blending ratio.