An experimental study performed to compare the results of different methods used in the literature for the calculation of heat transfer coefficient in double-tube heat exchangers. Then, a new fundamental approach was proposed which used the temperature profile and the local heat transfer coefficients. In this method, the heat transfer coefficient has been calculated for the total length of the heat exchanger including developing and fully developed regions. Numerous experimentations have been conducted in a double-tube heat exchanger. A significant difference observed between the results obtained from the suggested approach and those of the previous methods.