The invention relates to an air fryer with external cold air circulation. The air fryer comprises a shell, an upper mechanism, a lower mechanism, an airway plate, a temperature controller, a pot basket, a motor, a cold air wheel, a hot air wheel, a heating body, an air inlet and a plurality of air outlets, the cold air wheel is arranged in an interlayer between the shell and the upper mechanism in a manner of corresponding to the air inlet and is closer to the air inlet, the heating body comprises a heating element, a fixing piece, a supporting frame and a linking support, the heating element directly heats air in an exposed manner, the temperature controller is an adjustable flashing temperature controller and directly senses temperature of heated air inside, a container for containing food is a composite pot composed of the pot basket and a pot basket layer frame, and a cavity is formed at the bottom of the food. Cold air circulating quantity is increased, and heat loss of inside heating can be reduced; heating efficiency of a heating part is improved; a temperature control part is accurate in temperature sensing, so that temperature sensing delay is avoided; structure of the pot basket is simplified, so that separation of food and oil-water is facilitated, range and efficiency of heat convection are improved, and cooking efficiency is improved.