This paper is concerned with the heat flux distribution and energy partition to the workpiece for creep-feed grinding. From measurements of transient grinding temperatures in the workpiece sub-surface using an embedded thermocouple, the overall energy partition was estimated from moving heat source theory as ε ≈ 3.0% for down grinding and ε ≈ 4.5% for up grinding. An inverse heat transfer analysis was subsequently applied to calculate the heat flux and cooling distributions on the workpiece surface from the measured temperatures. Energy partition values from the inverse analysis were consistent with the results from moving heat source theory. The higher energy partition for up grinding may be attributed to thermal incompatibility at the grinding zone. Creep-feed down grinding should provide a more favorable thermal situation than up grinding.