Thethermalexpansionofworkrollsduringhotstriprollingwasmodeledbyatwo-dimensionaldifferencemethod.Thecalculationmodelwasvalidatedbycomparisonbetweenthepredictionstothemeasuredresults.Withthatmodel,theeffectsofrollingprocessparameterssuchastherollingplan,millpacing,coolantflowrateandsteppedcoolingontherollthermalprofilewereinvestigated.Theresultshowsthatsteppedcoolingofworkrollscanbeusedtocontrolcomplicatedflatnessdefectssuchasquarterbucklesduringhotstriprolling.