A model to predict the autoignition temperatures (AIT) of organic compounds is proposed based on the structural group contribution (SGC) approach. This model has been built up using a 400-compound training set; the fitting ability for these training data is 0.8474, with an average error of 32 K and an average error percentage of 4.9%. The predictive capability of the proposed model has been demonstrated on an 83-compound validation set; the predictive capability for these validation data is about 0.5361, with an average error of 70 K and an average error percentage of 11.0%. The proposed model is shown to be more accurate than those of other published works. This improvement is largely attributed to the modifications of the group definitions for estimating the AIT instead of the type of empirical model chosen. Through the Q(2) value and hypothesis testing, it was found that the empirical model should be chosen as a polynomial of degree 3. As compared to the known errors in experimentally determining the AIT, the proposed method offers a reasonable estimate of the AIT for the organic compounds in the training set, and can also approximate the AIT for compounds whose AIT is as yet unknown or not readily available to within a reasonable accuracy. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.