Palaeo-heat flow values and thicknesses of eroded Permo Carboniferous sediments in the Saar Basin were evaluated using one dimensional thermal modelling techniques. Thermal, burial and erosion histories for 16 wells were calibrated by comparing measured and calculated vitrinite reflectance using the kinetic EASY%R-o algorithm and by comparing measured and calculated temperature data. On the basis of 37 wells, coalification maps were constructed revealing a syn-kinematic coalification pattern. Thermal maturity of the sediments can only be explained by deep burial and moderate heat flows during time of maximum burial, i.e., in the Permo-Carboniferous. Calculated heat flow data range between 50 and 75 mW/m(2), which implies a crustal thickness between 30 and 40 km during the time of maximum burial. These values are in accordance with the geodynamic setting of the basin. The influence of the Permo-Carboniferous volcanism on the palaeo-temperature distribution was overwhelmed by the subsequent deep burial. During Permian times, between 1800 and 3000 m of Permo-Clarboniferous sediments were eroded. Different sedimentation and erosion histories are characteristic for anticlines and synclines, respectively. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.