The waste heat emissions of thermal discharge from floating nuclear power plants may have a negative thermal effect on the environment. Study on the dilution and diffusion of cooling water plays an important role in thermal pollution prevention. The cooling water discharge process can be condensed into the thermal jet in cross flow. According to the theory of computational fluid dynamics, the mathematical model of round horizontal thermal jets in cross flow is established. The 3D numerical simulation of thermal jets based on finite volume method is achieved by using the Realizable k-ε turbulence model and the Semi-implicit method for pressure linked equations, and the three-dimensional trajectory of thermal jet are obtained. The rationality of analysis method is approved by comparing calculation value with experimental value. The temperature distributions in thermal jets are studied through the numerical experiments conducted under different cross-flow velocity and different emission angle. As a result, the impacts of these conditions on thermal pollution area are found, and the theoretic bases are provided for the design of the cooling water discharge pipe.