Aimed at the temperature warning of axle box bearing for high speed train independently developed by China,the heat generation and heat transfer calculation of axle box bearing were discussed.A local heat source loading method based on the force of each rolling element was proposed,the finite element simulation model of axle bearing temperature field was established and its steady temperature field analyzed by Fluent module of ANSYS.The simulation results were verified by the actual measured data of the train .The results show that the temperature error of thermometer hole between the simulation result and the actual data is 0.33%.The highest temperature of axle box body locates at the thermometer hole.There is a gradient decline in bearing temperature from top to bottom,the highest temperature occurs at the contact zone between the top roller and the inner ring and the top zone between two bearings inner ring.The research results lay a foundation for studying the influence of train operating conditions on temperature field and finding out the cause of temperature warning of highspeed train axle box bearing.