Being simple in structure and rapid in response, plasma flow control technology is under interesting review by scholars. In order to reduce the turbulent frictional drag of the aircraft, a new turbulent drag reduction method based on grid-type plasma actuator is proposed. The discharge characteristics and induced jet characteristics are researched, and the parameters of actuator to reduce the turbulent friction drag of NACA0012 airfoil are obtained in the wind tunnel. The results show that under static conditions, the jet velocity induced by grid-type actuator is proportional to the duty cycle, and increases first and then decreases with the increase of pulse frequency. The maximum instantaneous velocity of induced jet is 1.75 m/s. When the inflow velocity is 15 m/s, the actuation makes the turbulent friction drag of the airfoil reduce by 3.5 %. The jet induced by the grid-type actuator makes the near-wall fluid lift and the near-wall vortex structure destroy, and further inhibit the generation of turbulence to achieve friction drag reduction.