Abstract The aim of the present work is to develop a reliable method to predict flank wear precisely in a turning process by developing a mathematical model and comparing it with the experimental results. Some important factors like the index of diffusion, wear coefficient, rate of increase of normal load with respect to flank wear and the hardness of tool, influencing the flank wear have been used as input parameters to develop the mathematical model. The developed mathematical model was used to relate the wear to the input parameters for a turning operation. The input parameters were established based on the design of experiment technique. The model was then used to predict the tool wear. These tool wear values were compared with the experimental flank wear values to determine the correlation coefficient between them. The correlation coefficient was found to be 0.988 showing the validity of the model. The effect of individual process parameters such as workpiece rotational speed, feed and depth of cut on the flank wear was also studied. Results showed that this flank wear model is reliable and could be used effectively for tool wear prediction.