A numerical study has been performed on mixed convection in a lid-driven cavity. The vertical sidewalls of the cavity are maintained with sinusoidal temperature distribution. A finite volume method is used to solve numerically the non-dimensional governing equations. Results are analyzed over a range of the Richardson numbers, amplitude ratios and phase deviations. The results show that heat transfer rate is increased on increasing amplitude ratio. It is observed that average Nusselt numbers are increased first and then decreased when increasing the phase deviation from 0 to pi. The non-uniform heating on both walls provides higher heat transfer rate than non-uniform heating of one wall. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.