A new method is introduced to predict reliable estimation of heats of detonation of aromatic energetic compounds. At first step, this procedure assumes that the heat of detonation of an explosive compound of composition C(a)H(b)N(c)O(d) can be approximated as the difference between the heat of formation of all H(2)O-CO(2), arbitrary (H(2)O, CO(2), N(2)) detonation products and that of the explosive, divided by the formula weight of the explosive. Overestimated results based on (H(2)O-CO(2) arbitrary) can be corrected in the next step. Predicted heats of detonation of pure energetic compounds with the product H(2)O in the liquid state for 31 aromatic energetic compounds have a root Mean square (rms) deviation of 2.08 and 0.34 kJ g(-1) from experiment for (H(2)O-CO(2) arbitrary) and new method, respectively. The new method also gives good results Lis compared to the second sets of decomposition products, which consider H(2), N(2), H(2)O, CO, and CO(2), as major gaseous products. It is shown here how the predicted heats of detonation by the new method can be used to obtain reliable estimation of detonation velocity over a wide range of loading densities.