The infrared reflection coatings with pigment can be used to protect the surfaces of combustible materials exposed to fire. To obtain high reflectivities in the infrared range (0.5-10.mu.m) important to fire, several dielectric pigments, such as titanium dioxide, iron oxide, and silicon, can be synthesized to polymer coatings. The theoretical analysis shows that the coating design with particles diameter in the 1.5 to 2.5.mu.m range and volume fraction in the 0.1 to 0.2 range is estimated to be optimal. In the analysis of the radiation, the dependent scattering, absorption by polymeric binder, and the internal interface reflection are considered. In addition, the temperature distribution in the semi-transparent coating layer and an opaque substrate (PMMA) is also presented.