Urban construction usually accompanies with the generation of urban heat island (UHI), which could be further intensified with urban development. The UHI effect is one of the most crucial factors that have negative impacts on the wellbeing of urban dwellers; thus, estimating the sensible heat flux is obviously important for studying the urban thermal environment. In the present study, we utilized thermal imaging camcorder to record the surface temperature of six common urban surfaces in a typical residential quarter during one summer day and estimated the sensible heat released from these surfaces. The results showed that artificial surfaces have significantly higher surface temperature than the ambient air temperature. The maximum temperature differences between three artificial surfaces (artificial turf, asphalt pavement, and concrete pavement) and ambient air temperature reached 18℃, 15℃, and 11℃, respectively. In contrast, natural surfaces showed similar temperature compared with the ambient air due to evaporation and transpiration. Among natural surfaces, grassland had a relatively higher surface temperature, and the maximum temperature difference between grassland and ambient air was 4℃. Higher surface temperature resulted in strong release of sensible heat flux. Artificial turf and asphalt pavement released as much as 2256 W/m² and 1913 W/m² into the atmosphere during one day. Solar radiation is the main governing factor of variation of artificial surface temperatures. Relevant measures need to be taken to reduce exposure time to lower sensible heat flux and thus improve outdoor thermal comfort level. Trees and water body released only 16 W/m² and 7 W/m² and thus are beneficial for the mitigation of urban heat island.