In view of an inquiry into the influence of substrate layer thickness on thermal insulation performance of container planted roofs in hot and humid areas, by using Energy Plus software, a simulation and analysis have been made of the annual changes of internal and external surface temperatures of bare roofs and planted roofs with three substrate layer thicknesses (100, 200, 300 mm). The results show that, compared with bare roofs, the temperature of the inner surface of planted roofs is characterized with a little fluctuation, with the inner surface temperature constantly slightly lower than the outer surface temperature, thus verifying the thermal resistance effect of planted roofs. For planted roofs with a thickness of 100 mm, the average temperature of its inner surface can be reduced by 15 ℃ in summer; the average temperature of its inner surface decreases by 12.5 ℃, and increases by 5 ℃ when the outdoor dry-bulb temperature is lower than 20 ℃ in the transition season. In winter, the average temperature of its inner surface increases by 5 ℃. The change rule of the internal and external surface temperature of the three kinds of planted roofs remains basically the same, with the average temperature of the internal surface reducing by 2 ℃ in summer while increasing by 1 ℃ in winter when the thickness of the substrate layer increases by 100 mm.