To study the dynamic thermal response performance of concrete radiant cooling slab, this paper introduces the concept of core temperature layer. Heat transfer process in the concrete slab is divided into three sub-processes, correspondingly, and three heat transfer models are built by reaction coefficient method. Two-dimensional unsteady heat transfer model of concrete cooling slab is established ultimately. Experiments are conducted to test the slab thermal performance in steady and unsteady conditions. Error analysis and consistency verification are presented between the experimental value and calculated results of the model. The relative error between calculation and experimental value is within 2 in steady conditions and within 7% in unsteady conditions. The application scope of the heat transfer model for practical engineering is defined in this paper. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.