Anthropogenic heat flux is an important term of urban energy budget. Estimation of the anthropogenic heat flux is critical for the study of urban climate and heat island effect. Therefore, the anthropogenic heat flux of Hefei from 2013 to 2020 was estimated based on the energy balance equation method using Landsat 8 satellite data and ERA5 reanalysis data. Land surface characteristic parameters and each component of the energy balance equation was quantitatively validated against in-situ measurements, then the spatiotemporal distribution of anthropogenic heat flux was analyzed. The results showed that: \mathrm{①} The retrieval algorithm of surface temperature and the estimation scheme of downwelling long-wave radiation suitable for urban are established. The root mean square errors of surface temperature and downwelling long-wave radiation are 2.33 K and 9.26 W/m², respectively. \mathrm{②} The estimated net radiation flux, sensible heat flux, latent heat flux and anthropogenic heat flux are in good agreement with the in-situ observations, and the root mean square errors are 82.00 W/m², 69.51 W/m², 55.19 W/m² and 75.47 W/m², respectively. \mathrm{③} The spatial distribution of anthropogenic heat flux is relatively concentrated, and anthropogenic heat flux in urban areas is much higher than that over the natural underlying surface; the industrial area in the main urban area is the largest anthropogenic heat flux emission area throughout the year; the anthropogenic heat flux has distinct seasonal variation, with the largest in summer, the second in spring and the smallest in autumn and winter; there are obvious differences in anthropogenic heat flux on different surface cover types, the urban area is the largest, followed by farmland, and the forest and water body are small, the seasonal average of the urban area in spring, summer, autumn and winter are as follows: 280 W/m², 321 W/m², 203 W/m² and 131 W/m², respectively. The research results have important scientific significance and application value for evaluating the energy emissions, development status, layout planning and urban regional climate of large and medium-sized cities.