A one dimensional analytical model of liquid film cooling in rocket combustion chambers operating at subcritical conditions is developed. The approach followed involves the selection of a control volume for mass and energy balance. The coolant evaporation rate per area is obtained from this energy balance. The present model incorporates mass transfer via entrainment by adapting suitable correlations from literature pertaining to annular flow conditions. The model predicted favourably with the experimental data available in open literature and produced superior results compared to all existing models. Results are presented for a mixed gas-water system under different conditions. Results indicate that convection dominates the heat transfer at the gas-liquid interface. Effects of gas Reynolds number, coolant inlet temperature, combustion chamber pressure, mass flow ratio of the liquid coolant to the free stream and the free stream turbulence on the liquid film length are presented in detail. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.