Abstract: The transverse flow law of metals is very important for calculating the shape of steel strips during hot rolling. A metal elastic-plastic deformation model was developed using a general finite element software, ABAQUS. The calculation cost can be significantly reduced by imposing the transverse uniformity of the longitudinal displacement of the strip at the end face during steady rolling. The effect of factors on the transverse flow of metals and the effect of the transverse flow of metals on the shape of steel strips were analyzed using the developed model. Simulation results show that the effect of the friction condition of the contact interface on transverse flow is negligible. Moreover, during hot tandem rolling of wide steel strips, under the condition of constant unit crown, the variation of the width of the steel strip and fluctuation range of the mean front and back tension stresses do not affect the transverse flow and shape of metals. Further, the transverse flow of metals varies with the reduction ratio, which results in a trend toward the middle wave of the strip shape with the increase in the reduction ratio. It also varies with the similarity of the symmetric and asymmetric profiles and significantly reduces the effect of the change of profile similarity on the shape of the steel strip. A metal transverse flow prediction model is developed via the multivariate nonlinear regression method for online control, which lays the necessary foundation for strip shape regulation during hot rolling.