Experimental and theoretical studies were performed to investigate thermal dynamics in a fixed bed. The near-adiabatic beds packed with virgin zeolite 13X and water-saturated zeolite 13X were heated with hot nitrogen. The effect of the heat-transfer coefficient between the gas and adsorbed phases, h(s) on thermal dynamics was elucidated by a comparison of the thermally heterogeneous and homogeneous models. If h(s) is obtained from a proper correlation, the prediction of thermal dynamics by the homogeneous model is the same as that by the heterogeneous model. The heat-transfer coefficient at the inner wall, h(i), in the packed bed showed a dependency on the flow rate and temperature of hot nitrogen. A dimensionless correlation of Nu(PM), Re-PM, and Pr was obtained from the experimental results, and the relation between Nu(PM) and Re-PM in the correlation was similar to that derived from an internal flow in the vacant bed. Using the values of heat-transfer coefficients estimated from the thermal swing experiments, the dynamics of thermal regeneration in the zeolite 13X bed saturated with water was well predicted.