A simple but effective upper-bound elemental technique (UBET) for prediction of the torque and the deformation pattern during the ring-rolling of rings having arbitrarily shaped profiles is proposed. In order to describe the three-dimensional material flow of profile ring rolling, a new element with a curvilinear side is introduced and the corresponding kinematically admissible velocity field is derived. Upper-bound analysis is carried out for rolling rings with a circular groove or protrusion having a round corner fillet. Comparing with the experimental results, the roll torque and the profile formation are predicted with reasonable accuracy. The effects of some parameters are investigated also. Despite the simplifying assumptions, some aspects of the deformation mechanics in profile ring rolling are shown to be described successfully by the proposed method.