The model of an atrium, combining the subway station with commercial districts, was built and the CFD(computer fluid dynamics) technology was adopted to simulate the effects of heat release rate on the natural smoke extraction strategy when fire occurs in the atrium.The heat release rate was set to be 2, 3, 4 MW.The simulated results indicate that, the smoke extraction strategy fails with the increase of fire heat release rate from 2 MW to 4 MW when the outdoor temperature is lower than 5℃.When it exceeds 25℃, the smoke can be extracted and the effect is better with the increase of heat release rate.With the increase of outdoor temperature and the reduction of temperature difference between outdoor and indoor environment, the effect of heat release rate on the atrium natural smoke extraction decreases.