This study highlights the importance of heat release rate in low-temperature oxidation (LTO) on nonuniform end-gas autoignition and strong pressure wave generation, which are substantially relevant to knocking combustion. The simulations are conducted using the compressible Navier-Stokes equations with detailed transport and chemical kinetics models in a one-dimensional constant-volume reactor. Four fuel/air stoichiometric mixtures, n-butane, i-octane, n-heptane, and dimethyl ether (DME)/air mixtures, are simulated. The results show that larger knocking intensities are produced with n-heptane and DME in their negative temperature coefficient (NTC) regimes because of the stronger non-uniformity of end gas autoignition. The non-uniformity of end-gas autoignition is enhanced by a pressure wave disturbance that is caused by the rapid temperature rise of the end-gas region in LTO. In particular, the high heat release rate with the DME/air mixture generates a distinct pressure wave disturbance in the reactor, which considerably enhances the non-uniformity of end-gas autoignition through the reflection of the wave at the wall. In contrast, the heat release rate in the n-heptane case is milder than that in the DME case, and therefore, the knocking intensity in the n-heptane case is smaller compared to that of DME due to less enhancement of the non-uniform end-gas autoignition. No large knocking intensities are produced with n-butane and i-octane, which have weak NTC, because of the absence of a temperature rise in LTO. Thus, this study concludes that the high heat release rate in LTO and the generated pressure wave disturbance play a significant role in the generation of large knocking intensities through the enhancement of non-uniform end-gas autoignition. (C) 2020 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.