This paper is concerned with the heat flux distribution and energy partition for creep-feed grinding. From measurements of transient grinding temperatures in the workpiece sub-surface using an embedded thermocouple, the overall energy partition to the workpiece was estimated from moving heat source theory for a triangular heat flux distribution as 3.0% for down grinding and 4.5% for up grinding. The higher energy partition for up grinding can be attribute to the need to satisfy thermal compatibility at the grinding zone. The influence of cooling outside the grinding zone can be analytically taken into account by specifying convective heat transfer coefficients on the workpiece surface ha ahead of the heat source (grinding zone) and hb behind the heat source. The smaller energy partition together with slightly lower grinding power favors down grinding over up grinding.