A three-layer thermal vegetation canopy model applicable to forest canopies was developed and tested by field experiments. The model is based on the energy budget equations that describe the interactions between short and long wave radiation, sensible heat flux and latent heat flux within three horizontally infinite canopy layers. Particularly it concerns the wind, air temperature and water vapor pressure profiles in the canopy, which were never considered in the earlier models. In solving the nonlinear energy budget equa- tions, a new method was adopted, resulting in the reduction of the model computer time greatly. The calculated results of the model are in good coincidence with the observed data, which shows that the new model is able to simulate exactly the variation of canopy temper- ature with vegetation structure and environmental conditions.