The unsteady thin conducting liquid film of non-uniform thickness on a rotating disk which is cooled axisymmetrically from below has been analysed numerically by solving the evolution equation of the free surface. Transient film profiles for different initial liquid film distributions have been obtained. The results reveal that the thinning process and film planarisation are markedly influenced by the heat dissipating or cooling parameter β, Prandtl number σ and Reynolds number Re. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.