In order to investigate the appropriate heating method for hot in-place recycling, numerical simulation of the heating temperature field of asphalt pavement was carried out with the finite element software ABAQUS relying on Kalottikone hot in-place recycling train in the project of Ning-Su-Xu expressway. The influence of environmental factors, operating parameters and heating power of the preheater were analyzed, based on which the ideal heating method of Kalottikone hot in-place recycling train was obtained. The simulation results were compared with the field measurements. The results show that 1) Compared to one-way continuous heating mode, round-trip intermittent heating mode can acquire better heating effect; 2) the influence of ambient temperature and wind speed on the heating temperature field are more significant while that of solar radiation is modest; 3) round-trip distance, running speed and round-trip number of the preheater all influence the heating temperature field, and there exists an optimum combination of them; 4) there also exists an optimum combination of the heating power of different preheaters; and 5) the simulation results of the recommended heating method show good agreement with the field measurements. Numerical simulation with finite element method can conveniently analyze the appropriate heating method for hot in-place recycling and provide theoretical basis for the projects.