Leaf senescence is an active physiological process as the final stage of leaf development, which is critical for nutrient recycling and seed formation. Several kinds of environmental stresses can influence the progress of leaf senescing during a life cycle in higher plants, especially for heat stress, one of the most important environmental factors. With the increase in harmful effects of global warming, it is necessary to study the mechanisms of leaf senescence induced by heat stress, which will provide deep insights in better understanding how to modulate the processes of leaf senescence in order to enhance crop yields under heat stress. In this article,the recent research progresses regarding effects of heat stress on leaf senescence have been reviewed, including damages of chloroplasts and thylakoid membranes, disruption of photosynthetic electron flow, ROS accumulation, degradation of photosynthesis-related proteins and heat-induced activation of autophage in higher plants.