A combined experimental and numerical technique for the determination of uniaxial stress-strain properties of metallic materials at high strain rates and temperatures of up to 440°C is presented. Experiments were carried out using an existing ballistic test machine. Small cylindrical specimens of commercially pure copper and mild steel were placed upon a rigid anvil and were impacted by a hardened tool steel projectile at temperatures of up to 440 °C. The initial velocity of the projectile up to 120 m/s was recorded by a laser velocity-measuring device, and the deformation of the impacted specimen was measured after each test. For the purpose of high temperature tests, a modification for the machine have been made and a movable anvil unit to reduce the loss of heat has been designed and used. A mathematical model with a mixed boundary condition, to which the theory of propagation of longitudinal waves of plastic deformation is applied, has been established. Based on the model, a numerical method of the iterative procedure to determine dynamic properties of materials considering adiabatic shear effects at various temperatures has been utilized. The corresponding computer programs have also been written. The properties of wavepropagation in the impact process of the specimen have been analyzed. The factors affecting the deformation of the impacted specimen such as adiabatic shear phenomena, the effects of shock loading and the boundary conditions at the anvil end have been discussed, and the optimum parameters to determine the corresponding constitutive equations have been selected. Further, a method to examine and determine the validity of the constitutive equations of materials is recommended. The forms of constitutive equations at high strain rates up to 10s s'1 for metals (commercially pure copper and mild steel) at various temperatures up to 440 °C have been proposed and the parameters in these suggested equations have been determined by means of agreement of the experimental results and numerical calculations.