Bimetallic rolls are widely used in steel rolling industry because of their excellent hardness, wear resistance, and high temperature properties. Heat treated residual stresses consist of compressive stress in the shell and tensile stress in the core are produced in the bimetallic roll during heat treatment. In the subsequent hot rolling process, severe thermal stresses are caused by heating-cooling thermal cycles at the roll surface. The combination of heat treated residual stresses and thermal stresses will cause a complex stress field in work roll during hot rolling process. The high combined tensile stress at the roll center may cause thermal breakage, once the tensile stress exceeds the material strength. Consequently, it is necessary to investigate the combined stresses to improve roll service life during hot rolling process. In this paper, the combined stresses in the work roll during hot rolling are investigated based on the FEM simulation, considering the heat treated residual stress after tempering process and thermal stress generated during hot rolling. In addition, the thermal breakage of work roll is evaluated in breakdown of water cooling systems and rolling incidents.