Abstract The winter temperature of campus in north China is generally low, and different underlying surfaces have different characteristics in different environments in winter. In this paper, three different underlying surfaces on campus: hard pavement, vegetation and water surface, were selected for a quantitative study. From December 21 to 25, 2019, the temperature and relative humidity of 6 measuring points in Chang’an campus of Northwest Polytechnic University were measured every 0.5h per day. The results show that the temperatures of hard pavement surface were generally higher than that of grassland and water body in the wintertime. Detailed process and results of the research are introduced in this paper, and some suggestions for the future campus planning in consideration of winter environmental factors are provided accordingly.