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Rapid urbanization leads to changes in surface coverage and landscape patterns. This results in urban heat island (UHI) effects and a series of negative ecological consequences. Considering this concern and taking Shanghai as an example, this paper concentrates on the effects of surface coverage and landscape patterns on urban land surface temperature (LST). The research is based on quantitative retrieval of remote sensing data with consideration of methods in multiple disciplines, including landscape ecology, geographic information systems, and statistical analysis. It concludes that, over time, the thermal environment of Shanghai is becoming critical. The average LST ranking of different surface coverage is as follows: Construction land (CL) > bare land (BL) > green land (GL) > agricultural land (AL) > water body (WB). LST varies significantly with the type of surface coverage. CL contributes the most to the UHI, while WB and GL have obvious mitigation effects on the UHI. The large area, low degree of landscape fragmentation, and complex outlines lead to low LST rankings for GL, WB, and AL and a high LST ranking for CL. The conclusions indicate that CL should be broken down by GL and WB into discrete pieces to effectively mitigate UHI effects. The research reveals UHI features and changes in Shanghai over the years and provides practical advice that can be used by urban planning authorities to mitigate UHI.