Reference-beam interferometry (RBI) was applied to study the axisymmetric temperature fields of a small-scale, low Reynolds-number, low-pressure and fuel-rich premixed butane/air circular-flame jet, when it was impinging vertically upwards onto a horizontal copper plate. By maintaining a Reynolds number, Re, of 500 and an equivalence ratio, phi, of 1.8, interferograms of the impinging-flame jet were obtained for various nozzle-to-plate-distances. Temperature fields of the flame were then determined using the inverse Abel transformation from the obtained interferograms. Temperatures at several locations were measured experimentally with a T-type thermocouple: they were used as a reference to help in the determination as well as the validation. In the present study, a non-contact method has been successfully developed to measure the temperature fields of a circular impinging gas-fired flame jet. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.