Auto-ignition and flame propagation are the two different controlling mechanisms for stabilizing the flame in secondary stage combustion in hot vitiated air environment and at elevated pressure. The present work aims at the investigation of the flame stabilization mechanism of flames developing in such an environment. In order to better understand the structure of turbulent flames at inlet temperature well above the auto-ignition temperature, the behavior of laminar flames at those conditions needs to be analyzed. As an alternative to challenging and expensive measurements at high temperature and pressure, the behavior of laminar flames at such conditions can be predicted from theory using mathematical simulation. In the present work, the laminar burning velocities and flame structures of premixed stoichiometric methane/air mixtures for inlet temperatures from 300 to 1450 K and absolute pressures from 1 to 8 bar have been calculated using a freely propagating laminar, one dimensional, planar flame model. The prediction shows that at inlet temperatures below the auto-ignition temperature, the predicted laminar burning velocity which corresponds to the unburned mixture velocity in order to create a steady laminar flame decreases with increase in pressure. When the inlet temperature of the mixture goes well beyond the auto-ignition temperature of the mixture, however, the unburned mixture velocity increases steeply at higher pressure level, because of a complete transition of the flame structure. (C) 2013 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.