Nowadays the combined use of downsizing and turbocharging represents one of the most valuable solutions to reduce the CO2 emission of spark ignition (SI) engines and to improve their specific power. Nevertheless, the need for high boosting levels can lead to a dramatic increase in the knock likelihood. In such a framework numerical simulations can be used to properly select the most promising technologies for the minimization of the knock risk. Such an approach requires the availability of reliable knock models capable of identifying the knock-limited spark advance (KLSA) depending on the engine operating conditions and configurations. Therefore the main target of this thesis project is the development of a 3D-CFD model in the Converge environment capable of properly reproducing the occurrence, location and onset of the knocking phenomena in a high-performance turbocharged direct injection spark ignition (DISI) engine.