Aerosol directly affects the radiation balance of the land-atmosphere system by absorbing and reflecting solar radiation. With the continuous improvement of technology and algorithm, calculating aerosol direct radiative forcing based on satellite remote sensing is possible. The aerosol direct radiative forcing in Beijing area from 2004 to 2009 is calculated by using the MODTRAN radiative transfer model based on the MODIS aerosol and surface albedo data sets, and the comparison of calculated result and AERONET data is made. It is proved that this method is a meaningful exploration to calculate aerosol radiative forcing based on the satellite data over land. Aerosol of Beijing area has strong thermal effect. The aerosol direct radiative forcing from 2004 to 2006 shows a significant increase in trend; since 2007, as the environmental governance measures such as traffic restriction is gradually implemented, the increasing trend of aerosol direct radiative forcing slows down. In 2009, the direct radiative forcing decreases.