Land surface temperature (LST) is a critical environmental indicator affected by land cover (LC) changes. Currently, the most convenient and fastest way to retrieve LST is to use remote sensing images due to their continuous monitoring of the Earth’s surface. The work intended to investigate land cover change and temperature response in An-Najaf province. Landsat multispectral imageries acquired in August 1989, 2004, and 2021 were employed to estimate land cover change and LST responses. The findings exhibited an increase in water bodies, built-up areas, plantations, and croplands by 7.78%, 7.27%, 6.98%, 3.24%, and 7.78%, respectively, while bare soil decreased by 25.27% for the period (1989-2021). This indicates a transition from barren lands to different land cover types. The contribution index (CI) was employed to depict how changes in land cover categories altered mean region surface temperatures. The highest LSTs recorded were in bare lands (42.2℃, 44.25℃, and 46.9℃), followed by built-up zones (41.6℃, 43.96℃, and 44.89℃), cropland (30.9℃, 32.96℃, and 34.76℃), plantations (35.4℃, 36.97℃, and 38.92℃), and water bodies (27.3℃, 29.35℃, and 29.68℃) respectively, in 1989, 2004, and 2021. Consequently, these changes resulted in significant variances in LST between different LC types.