The paper deals with the possibility of using a semi-adiabatic test to determine the adiabatic hydration curve of concrete mixtures. Therefore, a temperature was measured at certain points of a concrete specimen during the test and an adiabatic temperature rise was estimated with a numerically determined heat loss compensation. The determined adiabatic hydration curve was inserted into a numerical program, which is used to calculate a temperature field within the concrete element using a finite element method. A comparison between numerically and experimentally determined values indicates the adequacy of the proposed numerical model. Moreover, the semi-adiabatic test proved to be an appropriate method to determine the adiabatic temperature rise.