Auto-ignition and heat release correlations for controlled auto-ignition (CAI) combustion were derived from extensive in-cylinder pressure data of a four-stroke gasoline engine operating in CAI combustion mode. Abundant experiments were carried out under a wide range of air/fuel ratio,speed and residual gas fraction to ensure that the combustion correlations can be used in the entire CAI engine operation range. Furthermore, a more accurate method to compute the residual gas fraction was proposed by calculating the working fluid temperature at the exhaust valve close timing in the experiments. The heat release correlation was described in two parts, one is for the first slower heat release process at low temperature, and the other is for the second faster heat release process at high temperature. Finally the heat release correlation was evaluated on the single cylinder gasoline engine running with CAI combustion by comparing the experimental data with the 1-D engine simulation results obtained with the aid of the GT-Power simulation program. The results show that the predicted loads and ignition timings match closely with the measurements.