Ionic wind generated by atmospheric pressure discharge can be used for propulsion, heat dissipation, food drying, which shows the unique advantages of no mechanical parts and fast response. However, the low energy efficiency and the low wind speed limits its application. In this paper, an ionic wind generator, constructed with needle-net electrode structure and driven by high-voltage DC power supply, is built for cooling of a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET). The energy efficiency and wind speed of the ionic wind generator are optimized by adjusting the electrode structure and applied voltage amplitude. The results show that when the discharge spacing is fixed at 10 mm and the optimal needle spacing is 17.5 mm with 6 needles at 14 kV, the maximum ionic wind velocity is 3.20 m/s and the energy efficiency is 1.90%. Under optimal experimental conditions, the heat dissipation performance of MOSFET is significantly enhanced compared to using only a heat sink. The junction temperature of MOSFET can be lowered by about 29 °C after 240 s with the ionic wind generator. The results of this paper can provide important experimental reference for the optimization of thermal dissipation by ionic wind generator.