<p>The article describes the means of monitoring the surface of the charge materials and the gas flow of the upper zone of the blast furnace (BF), necessary for assessing and adjusting the charging modes with charge materials. The dependences of the charging systems of a BF equipped with a bell-type charging device and the temperatures of the gas flow above the charge surface in the BF are obtained. The development of the previously proposed temperature indicators for assessing the gas flow and the need for their refinement in the event of a significant change in the technological and charge conditions of smelting are presented, recommendations are presented for adjusting the charging modes when the temperature indicators go beyond the optimal ranges. A direct and iterative optimization method is developed, which is used to adjust the charging modes based on information on changes in the gas flow temperatures above the charge surface. It is shown that the dependencies of charging systems and gas flow temperatures, temperature indicators and recommendations based on their changes, the method of direct and iterative optimization are the main components in the development of a decision support system for controlling the charging mode of a BF.</p>