The present study has been performed to investigate the thermal characteristics of under-ventilated compartment fire which is a typical fire condition in structures. A series of fire experiments was conducted to characterize the thermally driven flow in a 2/5 scale ISO 9705 fire compartment. Three different fuels were used in this test series, methane gas, heptane pool, and polystyrene pellets fire. In order to measure accurate temperature, double shield aspirated thermocouples reducing the effect of radiative energy exchange on temperature measurement were used in addition to bare bead thermocouples. The upper layer temperature for well ventilated fire was increased with increasing heat release rate, but it was slightly decreased for under-ventilated fire. The measured temperatures in the upper layer at the front sampling location were higher than at the rear. Thermal characteristics through the doorway were also analysed for a wide range of heat release rates. This study provides a comprehensive and quantitative assessment of fire behavior for under-ventilation condition of fire.