Abstract: The experimental studies were carried out on the combustion temperature and stability of small–scale diffusion flames using ethanol as fuel both for free jet flow and confined jet flow. Results show that there are four conditions for the jet flow flames in the quiescent air, namely the quenching flames, stable combustion flames, quasi-oscillatory flames, and oscillatory flames. As Reynolds numbers increase, the flame peak temperatures increase firstly and then will decrease. For the free jet flow, the flame peak temperatures reach 1300K, and the exhaust gas temperatures increase, then keep stable, and may reach the maximum value of 480K. When using the quartz glass tube with a certain small diameter, the wall temperatures increase quickly with the increasing of Reynolds numbers, and may reach the maximum of 370 K. The upper combustion limits of confined flow are all less than that of free flow, but the lower combustion limits are very close. As the inner diameters of the quartz glass tubes decrease, the upper combustion limits decrease sharply. In the present parameter ranges, thermal quenching is the main factor for flame quenching, and the main reason causing the transition from stable flames to oscillatory flames is the fuel incomplete combustion.