Plastic deformation of the strip, thermal crown of rolls, roll deflection, flattening and roll wear are the main factors that have influence on the surface quality of strip. Roll wear represents complex friction conditions that, after some specific tonnage rolled, become critical. This is because the pressure distribution is not uniform, so the stress between the work and the back-up roll, plus the contact between the strip and the work roll affects the performance of the work rolls. Investigation of the mechanism of the surface deterioration of the work roll is very important for the development of an average wear control system used in real time in hot strip mills. This project has developed a simple equation that considers the Hertzian pressure distribution and mechanical contact between two cylinders with parallel axes in order to calculate the average wear in the work roll.