An interpolating element-free Galerkin (IEFG) method is presented for transient heat conduction problems. The shape function in the moving least-squares (MLS) approximation does not satisfy the property of Kronecker delta function, so an interpolating moving least-squares (IMLS) method is discussed; then combining the shape function constructed by the IMLS method and Galerkin weak form of the 2D transient heat conduction problems, the interpolating element-free Galerkin (IEFG) method for transient heat conduction problems is presented, and the corresponding formulae are obtained. The main advantage of this approach over the conventional meshless method is that essential boundary conditions can be applied directly. Numerical results show that the IEFG method has high computational accuracy.