The objective of this research work was to study the thermal efficiency of intumescent fire retardant coating (IFRC) designed to protect structural steel in event of fire. IFRC has been effectively developed by using ammonium polyphosphate (APP), expandable graphite (EG), melamine (MEL), boric acid (BA), titanium oxide (TiO2), and bisphenol A BE-188 with polyamide amine H-2310 as curing agent. Six formulations were developed using different weight percentage (wt. ) of TiO2 and samples were tested for char expansion in furnace at 500°C for 2 h. Bunsen burner test was used to investigate the thermal performance of coating and its performance was compared by using thermal margin value. FESEM was used for char morphology. Char composition was analyzed by XRD and FTIR. Results showed that the coating with 4 wt. of TiO2 provides better thermal insulation to the substrate. © (2014) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.