Measurements of endwall heat transfer and flow field around a short single cylinder have been performed to examine the influence of cylinder inclination at low Reynolds number (Re-D = 1.0 x 10(4)). Both ends of the cylinder are attached to the endwalls and the length-to-diameter ratio of the cylinder varies from 2.7 to 4, depending on the inclination angle. Endwall heat transfer contours (obtained from transient liquid crystals) and endwall flow visualization results consistently indicate that the interaction between the horseshoe vortices around the cylinder and the wakes shed from the cylinder varies with the inclination. Spanwise pressure gradient induced by the inclination causes: (i) skewing of the upstream main flow as it approaches the cylinder; (ii) formation of a jet-like flow immediately downstream of the cylinder, followed by its impingement onto the endwall; and (iii) skewed separation line along the cylinder span from the cylinder axis. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.