ABSTRACT Rainfall-runoff modeling is very important in the planning and management of available water resources in a watershed. In this paper, a finite element method (FEM) based two dimensional overland flow model for runoff simulation using kinematic wave equation and its application to a hypothetical watershed has been presented. The model has been simulated using rectangular and triangular elements for two dimensional overland flow problem and verified with the results of analytical solution. Further a one dimensional channel flow model based on FEM has been developed and it is coupled with the two dimensional overland flow model. The coupled model also has been applied to a hypothetical watershed. In this study, though the model developed has been applied to a hypothetical watershed, it can be extended to natural watershed.