In this work, a comparison between the results of point-particle direct numerical simulations and PIV/PTV experiments of a particle-laden horizontal channel flow is presented. The numerical simulations were preformed trying to mimic as much as possible the experimental conditions. The accuracy of the point-particle approach was evaluated by comparison of the concentration, velocity and velocity fluctuation profiles. The agreement was good, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in the central part of the channel. However, in the near-wall region some differences were found. This can be explained by the lack of resuspension present in the simulations, because we considered only the fluid-particle interaction (one-way coupling) and neglected both the particle-fluid interaction (two-way coupling) and the particle-particle interaction (collisions).