This investigation is concerned with the selection of operating parameters for surface grinding of steels, when the grinding wheel tool life is limited by workpiece burn. Relationships are developed to show the effect of operating parameters on the volume removed per wheel dressing and the production time to grind away a unit volume of material. The results indicate that it is best to use the maximum allowable workpiece velocity with a corresponding optimum downfeed which is larger for slower workpiece velocities. It is also demonstrated that there are severe restrictions associated with high-speed grinding of steels.