A solution of the extended Graetz problem with prescribed wall heat flux and viscous dissipation in a semi‐infinite axial region of a tube is obtained by functional analytic methods. The energy equation is split into a set of partial differential equations to obtain a self‐adjoint formulism. Then, an algebraic characteristic equation of the eigenvalue problem for an arbitrary velocity profile is obtained by an approximation method inL2[0, 1]. In addition, a backward recursive formula for calculating the expansion coefficients of the solution is developed.