This paper analyzes the variation of meridional temperature gradient (MTG) over mid-latitude and high-latitude of Northern Hemisphere continents during last 100 years using observational data. It is found that MTG over high-latitude of Northern Hemisphere continents has an increasing trend, but the simulation results of CMIP5 models show a decreasing trend. Results of this study showed the decrease of MTG over the high-latitude continents of Northern Hemisphere calculated by CMIP5 historical simulations mainly because the models of CMIP5 exaggerated ice-albedo feedback over high-latitude regions. A series of simulation results by energy balance climate models showed that ice-albedo feedback amplified the magnitude of warming in the global warming induced only by carbon dioxide, and the magnitude of warming in highlatitude was much larger than that in low-latitude regions. Along with global warming, ice-albedo feedback has little influence on MTG in low-latitude, but can induce the decrease of MTG in high-latitude regions.