AbstractThe combustion of wood and methods for the fire retardacy of wood are reviewed briefly first, and then a study on thermogravimetry (TG) and derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) of water‐insoluble retardants and wood treated with retardants is presented. In the review of the flaming combustion of wood supported by cellulose, three categories of fire‐retardant methods, namely (1) chemical modification of the wood pyrolysis, (2) inhibition of the flaming combustion in the gas phase, and (3) thermal effects to restrain the increase in the temperature of wood and assumed temperature profiles in the heated wood are described. The results of TG and DTG, discussed in terms of kinetics, indicate three kinds of action of the retardant tested: (1) acceleration of dehydration and carbonization, (2) thermal stabilization of the chemical structure of cellulose, and (3) inhibition of the flaming combustion by halogen products. In conclusion, models of fire‐retardant wood materials for interior and exterior use are proposed, which contain retardants for the dehydration and the stabilization in the outer layer and those for the inhibition in the inner layer, respect