The thermal stability of beta-artemether under dynamic, isothermal and adiabatic conditions were investigated by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and accelerating rate calorimeter (ARC), respectively. The dynamic DSC measurements at various heating rates (1,2,4 and 8 degrees C min(-1)) displayed that beta-artemether experienced polymorph transformation in the melting process. According to the isothermal DSC results at different temperatures 86, 88, 90 and 92 degrees C, beta-artemether decomposed after the completion of the melting and the polymorph transformation, and the thermal decomposition of p-artemether is hazardous for its characteristic of autocatalytic decomposition. The kinetics analysis dynamically and isothermally described by Friedman method indicated the thermal decomposition of beta-artemether did not comply with a single mechanism. The ARC results showed that the pressure increased with the increase of temperature, and indicated obvious linear relationship. Based on the ARC data, the value of SADT of beta-artemether in 50 kg package was obtained. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.