Abstract The deep subsurface temperature data of the Roer Valley Graben have been re-analysed and combined with new temperature data from hydrocarbon exploration wells. The results show that the deep subsurface temperature distribution in the Roer Valley Graben is essentially the same as in the relatively stable high bordering the Roer Valley Graben to the southwest. Thus, the Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Roer Valley Graben, which is characterized by uplift and denudation during the Late Eocene and subsidence due to rifting starting from Late Oligocene, has hardly affected the temperatures in the graben, which is probably due to the slow subsidence and sedimentation rates. In contrast to what is suggested on previously published temperature maps, the Roer Valley Graben is probably not a relatively cold area in the Netherlands.