The study analyses the operation of a multi-cell mill for hot rolling of steel sheets, where the roll speed in each cell is previously known. A possible variation of metal speed during sheet pass through each cell is found keeping the requirement of metal continuous flow. An actual metal speed distribution throughout the mill is also found, solving the coupled thermo-mechanical problem of metal plastic forming by employing FEM.Key words: rolling speed, coupled thermo-mechanical problem, plastic deformation, sheet cooling, FEM 1. Introduction. As it is known, rolling is one of the basic metal forming processes producing sheets, tubes, profiles with different shape of the cross section, etc. A major part of rolling-related studies tackle the mechano-mathematical modelling of plastic forming, usually accounting for a rigid-plastic material. Noteworthy, in this respect are the papers [ 1, 2 ] and the results of [ 3 ] while [ 4 ] gives reference of metal and alloy mechanical characteristics under normal and high temperature. Modern approaches such as [ 5-8 ] attack the rolling problem using FEM technique while [ 9-11 ] and others treat the formation and evolution of metal microstructure during hot rolling. Yet, despite the numerous results in the field, it seems useful to perform a more detailed analysis of the problem of metal speed synchronization during sheet pass through a multi-cell mill since most studies analyze multipass sheet rolling within a single cell.