This paper examines the rate of absorption of molecular oxygen in an aqueous solution of sodium sulphite as a function of temperature over the range of 20–240°C. First, we determined the effect of the various parameters (oxygen partial pressure, sulphite and catalyst concentration, agitation) on the enhancement factor, E. It was observed that an Arrhenius' type relationship could describe the dependence of the physical absorption rate on temperature. According to the degree of agitation, two values for the activation energy: 22.8 and 12.7 kJ · mol−1 are obtained. Our results validate the various models formerly proposed only for the range 10–40°C, but show that they cannot be extrapolated above 50°C. The results also show that a simple test at ambient temperature can be used to predict the oxygen transfer capability of a reactor at temperatures up to 240°C.