AbstractFrictional heat is one of the causes of quench in a superconducting magnet. Therefore, sliding tests were carried out at 4 K in liquid helium for mainly SUS316L versus SUS316L combination in order to clarify the relationship between the frictional heat and temperature rise. Temperature rise was measured by two cryogenic thermocouples which were inserted into a SUS316L specimen at 0.4 and 1.4 mm just below the contact surface. The temperature rise increased with the frictional heat, but the relationship between them was not linear. To examine the behaviour of the thermal conduction of the frictional heat, a simulation analysis was carried out with the finite difference method. The heat was obtained to fit the measured temperature rise, and a comparison between the frictional heats obtained by the calculation and by the experiment was made.