Titanium and its alloys are difficult to machine due to their high chemical reactivity with tool materials and low thermal conductivity. Chip segmentation caused by the thermoplastic instability is always observed in titanium machining processes, which leads to varied cutting forces and chip thickness, etc. This paper presents an analytical modelling approach for cutting forces in near-orthogonal cutting of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V. The catastrophic shear instability in the primary shear plane is assumed as a semi-static process. An analytical approach is used to evaluate chip thicknesses and forces in the near-orthogonal cutting process. The shear flow stress of the material is modelled by using the Johnson–Cook constitutive material law where the strain hardening, strain rate sensitivity and thermal softening behaviours are coupled. The thermal equations with non-uniform heat partitions along the tool–chip interface are solved by a finite difference method. The model prediction is verified with experimental data, where a good agreement in terms of the average cutting forces and chip thickness is shown. A comparison of the predicted temperatures with published data obtained by using the finite element method is also presented.