Thermal stability of a conduction-cooled Bi-2223/Ag pancake coil has been investigated by means of a time dependent numerical analysis. The coil is cooled by a cryocooler through a cooling plate. This study focused on the temperature profile in the coil and the thermal runaway current. It is suggested from the present analysis that not only enlarging the attached area of the cooling plate to the coil but also dispersing the cooling plate is an effective way to improve the thermal stability of a conduction-cooled HTS coil. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.