The extent to which the anthropogenic heat release (AHR) affects the energy balance of the land–atmosphere system remains one of the focus issues in climate change. This paper estimated the global AHR from 1965 to 2017 based on consumption of non-renewable energy and bioenergy, assessed its climate forcing, and found out its impact on the energy balance of land–atmosphere system based on the radiation balance model. The results showed that the climate forcing of AHR increased from about 0.050 W·m-2 in 1965 to 0.167 W·m-2 in 2017, and the contribution rate of bioenergy was about 1/3. In 2017, AHR increased the average temperature of land surface and atmosphere by 0.0284 K and 0.0506 K, respectively. The contribution rate of AHR to global warming during the 15-year period from 1995, 1996 and 1997 was 3.77%, 3.64%, and 7.57%, respectively. AHR plays an important role in global climate change.