The article tackles the issues related to a process of heating of three way catalytic converter during the cold start and the heating of the spark ignition engine. The measurements on the test bench were performed, taking into consideration how engine works directly after the start, on the idle speed and under the load, during which the temperature of the exhaust gases in the exhaust system and coolant on the cylinder head were measured. At the same time the track of the heat state of the catalytic converter was monitored using thermo-vision camera. The results of the measurements were presented as charts and selected thermo-grams, qualitatively representing the issue of heating of the catalytic converter.