This paper examines the effective thermal conductivity of a misoriented short fiber composite. The analysis is based on the equivalent inclusion method for steady‐state heat conduction in composite which we have recently proposed. The present approach is unique in that it takes into account the interaction among fibers at different orientations. Closed form solutions are given for the thermal conductivity of a misoriented short fiber composite. Then, numerical results are presented to demonstrate the effects of volume fraction, fiber aspect ratio, and distribution function of fiber orientation on the thermal conductivity.