The deformation and the temperature field within direct chill (DC) and electromagnetic (EM) cast aluminum ingots have been measured in-situ using a simple experimental set-up. The deformation of the cross section of the cold ingots has also been characterized as a function of the casting speed, alloy composition and inoculation condition. The pull-in of the lateral rolling faces has been found to occur in two sequences for DC cast ingots whereas that associated with EMC was continuous. The pull-in was maximum at the center of these faces (about 7-9%) and strongly depended upon the casting speed. Near the short sides of the ingots, the deformation was only about 2% and was nearly independent of the casting parameters and alloy composition. Based upon these measurements, it was concluded that the pull-in of the rolling faces was mainly due to the bending of the ingots induced by the thermal stresses. This conclusion was further supported by a simple two-dimensional thermoelastic model.