The use of ceramic inserts in hot extrusion dies offers significant technical and economic advantages over other forms of manufacture. In this paper, process simulation and stress analysis are thus combined during the design, and a data exchange program has been developed that enables optimal design of the dies taking into account the elastic deflections generated in shrink fitting the die inserts and that caused by the stresses generated in the process. The shrink fit analysis has been performed that enables optimal design of the dies taking into account the elastic deflections which generated in shrink fitting the die inserts and that caused by the stresses generated in the process and by using DEFORM software for process analysis. This data can be processed as load input data for a finite element die-stress analysis. Process simulation and stress analysis are thus combined during the die design. The stress analysis of the dies is used to determine the stress conditions on the ceramic insert by considering contact and interference effects under both mechanical and thermal loads. The results are compared with the experimental ones for verification.