In the continuous casting process, the fluid flow of molten steel in the tundish is in a non-isothermal state. Because of the geometric shape and process parameters of a multi-strand tundish, the fluid flow behavior of each strand is quite inhomogeneous, and the difference in temperature, composition and inclusion content between each strand is great, which directly affects the quality of the steel products. In this paper, the fluid flow, heat transfer phenomena and inclusion trajectories in a four-strand tundish with and without flow-control devices (FCDs) are investigated using a water model and numerical simulation in isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. The results show that natural convection has a significant influence on the flow pattern and temperature distributions of molten steel in the tundish. Without FCDs, the average residence times of the molten steel in the tundish obtained by the isothermal water model, non-isothermal water model and non-isothermal mathematical model were 251.2 s, 263.3 s and 266.0 s, respectively, and the dead zone volumes were 21.51%, 29.26% and 28.21%, respectively. With FCDs, the average residence times of the molten steel obtained by the isothermal water model, non-isothermal water model and non-isothermal mathematical model were 293.0 s, 304.0 s and 305.2 s, respectively, and the dead zone volumes were 43.98%, 50.23% and 52.78%, respectively. The flow characteristics of the molten steel in the tundish were different between the isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. Compared with isothermal conditions, the numerical simulation results were closer to the water model results in non-isothermal conditions. The trial results showed that the fluid flow in a tundish has a non-isothermal characteristic, and the results in non-isothermal conditions can better reflect the actual fluid flow and heat transfer behaviors of molten steel in a tundish.