Abstract A new model of temperature distribution is proposed as a solution for melting of a subcooled solid surrounding a circular cylinder.The simple expressions for the position of phase change interface are derived as a function of time.By comparison,the results are in a good agreement with numerical solutions.The present method is simple and perceivable.The method is valid for phase change problems at large Stefan numbers and different boundary conditions.The results show that the subcooling has a distinct effects on the melting processes,the liquid layer thickness of circular cylinder subcooled is less than that without subcooling,even only a fraction of that at deep subcooling and long melting time,the subcooling also enlarges the difference between cylinder and plane meltings.