In this paper the concept of field synergy (coordination) principle is briefly introduced first, and then its numerical verification is presented. A dimensionless number, field synergy number Fc, is defined as an indication of the synergy degree between velocity and temperature field for the entire flow and heat transfer domain. It is found that for the ideal case, this number should equal one, and for most of the engineering heat transfer cases, its value is far from being equal to one, showing a large room for the heat transfer enhancement study. Then the applications of the principle are discussed, with focusing being paid on the application for developing new type of enhanced techniques. Three examples are provided to demonstrate the importance and feasibility of the field synergy principle. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.