Rapid transient heat transfer of milli- or micro-second order has come to play an important role in advanced engineering, and the demand for active and direct control technology of heat transfer is growing. In this article, the recent needs for rapid transient heat transfer and its control are considered, and the conceptual differences between heat-transfer control and conventional temperature or thermal control is discussed. Then, the methods of heat-tranfer control are divided into passive and active methods. Active methods such as the variable physical property method, external-force method, boundary-layer control method, and phase change method are reviewed.