This paper summarizes the development and application of advanced thermal imaging techniques to a spark ignition engine at the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering. A thermal imaging system is described which is capable of viewing and recording the cylinder head surface temperature and piston surface temperature in a firing spark ignition engine. Two-dimensional temperature distributions of these surfaces were measured both during the engine's warm-up period and steady state operations. The influence of the engine's operating conditions was examined upon the temperature distributions of combustion chamber surfaces during the engine's warm-up period. The effect of spark timings, particularly the onset of knocking combustion on the surface temperatures, has been studied.