Anthropogenic Heat Release(AHR), which is produced through the consumption process of all kinds of energy resources in human society, will increase with the development of the global economy and expansion of the population.The present study shows that the global distribution of AHR is geographically concentrated and fundamentally correlated with economic activity.The global mean flux of AHR is just 0.03 W m^-2, but in populated urban regions it may reach several hundred watts per square meter-A high enough level to affect regional climate.The climatic effect of AHR will increase with the development of global urbanization, implying that AHR may affect the global climate.Global climate model results in the present study show that AHR could have a significant impact on the surface temperature at mid and high latitudes over the Northern Hemisphere, leading to a 0.06 K increase in surface temperature and a 0.04 K increase at 500 hPa.Although AHR does not have as significant an impact as greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, it is nonetheless an important climatic factor that should not be ignored in global climate change studies.