Abstract Although there are several kinetic models for the production of phthalic anhydride from the partial oxidation of o ‐xylene, only few studies have compared the effect of the kinetic model on the prediction of the hot‐spot temperature. In this work, the predicted temperature profile for the partial oxidation of o ‐xylene to phthalic anhydride in a multitubular packed bed reactor was obtained for different kinetic mechanisms using one‐dimensional pseudo‐homogeneous and heterogeneous models. The predicted temperature profile using the one‐dimensional heterogeneous model with the kinetic model of Calderbank et al. but with the adjusted kinetic and transport parameters proposed by Anastasov presented a good correlation with regard to experimental data. Nevertheless, in the hot‐spot zone deviations, up to 30 K were presented. In conclusion, the temperature performance in the production of phthalic anhydride is suitably predicted by the one‐dimensional heterogeneous model and the Calderbank et al.'s kinetic model. Though, prediction using bidimensional models should be done to establish the best correlation with experimental data.