In hot closed-die forging the load increases rapidly near the final stage. Preforming operation is important to both the sound final forging and die-service life. In this study, the material flows during preforming and final forging are investigated. The physical modeling with Plasticine as a model material showed clear flow patterns. The forging process were numerically simulated by the finite element method with the isothermal and the non-isothermal models. The flow patten of the isothermal simulation showed good agreements with the experiments. Temperature changes and pressure distributions on the die surfaces during one cycle of the forging process were obtained from the non-isothermal simulation. High pressure and temperature were developed at certain areas of the die surfaces. It was concluded that those areas usually coincide with each other and should be distributed by the preforming operations to enhance the die life.