A principle of uniformity of temperature difference field (TDF) in heat exchangers is advanced.It states that the more uniform the temperature difference field,the higher the effectiveness of heat exchanger for a given NTU and C,.Analytical and numerical results on the uniformity of TDF and effectiveness of thirteen types of heat exchangers show the validity of the uniformity principle.Its further verification is given by the asymptotical solution of TDF in terms of a recurrence formula of heat transfer area distribution.The analyses of entropy generation caused by heat transfer indicate that the uniformity principle is based on the second law of thermodynamics.Two ways,redistributing heat transfer areas and varying the connection between tubes,are presented for the improvement of the uniformity of TDF and the consequent increase of effectiveness for crossflow heat exchangers.