Powder particle characteristics prior to impact with a substrate surface play a major role in the deformation and deposition processes occurring during cold spray (CS), thus affecting the quality and adhesion strength of CS coatings. Revealing the separate effects of particle size, microstructure, impact temperature and velocity is of utmost interest to the CS field. However, the convoluted relationship existing between these particle characteristics complicates the process of segregating the effect each of them have on the deposition process. The current study aims to associate the particle impact behavior to its in-flight characteristics by studying and decoupling the influence of particle size, temperature and velocity. By taking advantage of the upstream/downstream powder injection location while using high pressure or low pressure cold spray system, it is possible to obtain distinct powder impact temperatures while achieving similar particle impact velocities. Spherical powder diameter ranges have been set to 35-48µm, 53-63 µm and 63-75 µm to constrain the particle impact velocity and temperature to limited variations during each CS deposition. To determine the particle in-flight temperature in all tested cases, a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model, validated by experimental particle temperature measurements, is used. In addition, a finite element model (FEM) is used to examine more closely the particle deformation processes with impact temperature variation, as the extreme short time-scale of particle impact does not allow direct observation. Results demonstrate and validate the importance and effect of particle impact temperature on the deformation and deposition processes. The influence of particle impact temperature is described in the frame of single particle impact test and coating build-up. Particle jetting level and occurrence, deposition efficiencies and adhesion strengths are evaluated to support the reached conclusions.