In this study are determined the unsteady temperature and thermal stress fields for a domestic 4-cylinder, 4-cycle gasoline engine cylinder head by the three-dimensional finite element method. A representative part of the cylinder head is modelled as a combination of hexahedron isoparametric elements, and the time-dependent temperature and the heat transfer coefficient of the gas are imposed as the thermal boundary conditions for the engine speeds of 500 rpm and 2000 rpm. The obtained results, which are represented graphically, indicate that the amplitudes of temperature fluctuation during a cycle are about 10.deg. C and 3.deg. C respectively on the surface of combustion chamber, and the maximum temperature fields occur at 30.deg. , 10.deg. respectively before the initiation of the exhaust stroke. Thermal stress fields due to non-uniform temperature distributions show that compressive stress is much larger than tensile stress throughout a cycle. It is also found that the compressive stress varies with substantial amplitude between the exhaust port and ignition plug hole, and the high tensile stress with small fluctuation occurs between exhaust port and the adjacent head bolt hole.