Due to the demand for fuel consumption reduction and automobile safety improvement, the automobile industry takes a lot of efforts to increase vehicle structural strength and decrease its body weight effectively. One way to achieve these targets is to use advanced high strength steels. However, the formability and shape controllability are the two main problems that are difficult to overcome. Another method is to use the hot forming process, which would result in better formability and less springback effects. Therefore, the latter method has become more popularly applied in the automotive industry. This thesis focuses on the hot forming studies, investigating the latest developments in the hot forming process and related material properties. In order to employ the finite element analysis to explore the hot forming process, this thesis set up a simulation model to examine the temperature history of blank and tools in the hot forming process, which includes hot blank air cooling, hot forming, and quenching. To validate the accuracy of the finite element analysis, U-shaped tools were designed for the cyclic hot forming experiments with thermal couples embedded in the die and punch to measure the tool temperature history for comparison. With the constructed finite element model, the hot forming process of the automobile structural parts A-pillar was also investigated in this thesis process, including cooling system design, process parameter analysis, and formability analysis. An optimum hot forming process for the A-pillar was then proposed. The research results obtained in this thesis could provide a reference for the future study on the hot forming process.