ABSTRACT A new method, the notched specimen cracking test (NSCT), is presented to directly measure the thermal stress and critical temperature of asphalt binders at low temperatures. The NSCT contains a notched specimen that contraction deformation is limited by special invar steel fixtures exposed to a continuous cooling temperature field provided by a programable environmental chamber. To simulate the actual thermal contraction state–strain level of asphalt pavement in the laboratory, the geometry of the binder specimen was carefully designed by theoretical computation based on the superposition principle. The preliminary test result shows that NSCT for evaluation of the potential cracking risk of modified or non-modified binders at low temperatures is reliable and easy to operate. The coefficient of variations of thermal stress results is at least 50% smaller than the traditional thermal cracking measurement method.