Microcrystalline cellulose was dispersed as a gritty substance in an emulsion, and sensory evaluation was conducted to examine the effect of the presence of oil on grittiness felt in the mouth. Samples were prepared with three types of microcrystalline cellulose of average particle size 14, 38, and 76 μm and with a concentration in water of 0.03–2.7%, with three types of emulsion with an oil‐volume fraction of 0.2–0.7, and with three rates of homogenization of 500–15,000 rpm. The flow behavior and loss modulus of each sample were measured and sensory evaluation was made of the perceived grittiness. A multiple regression analysis of the data shows that the proportion of people who could perceive grittiness was influenced by the following factors and in that order: concentration of microcrystalline cellulose, oil droplet size, loss modulus, and particle size of microcrystalline cellulose. The proportion of people who perceived grittiness also increased with increasing oil droplet size. This was conceivably caused by the uneven distribution of microcrystalline cellulose particles promoted by large oil droplets. An equation was developed relating the proportion of people perceiving grittiness to the physical properties of the sample. The result indicates that factors effecting grittiness perception are identical for emulsions, aqueous suspensions, viscous suspensions and gels, studied previously.