A thin film magnetic head is provided, in which the amount of protrusion in the periphery of an element portion can be reduced or a local temperature increase of electrode leads of a heating element can be prevented. The thin film magnetic head includes a playback element disposed between lower and upper shield layers, a recording element laminated on the upper shield layer, a heating element which is disposed below a coil layer and which generates heat to allow the playback element to protrude toward the recording medium side through thermal expansion, and a pair of electrode leads including overlapping regions, which are in contact with rear ends of the heating element and which overlap with the upper shield layer, and heat dissipation regions. Furthermore, connection wiring portions of the pair of electrode leads are disposed in a region sandwiched between the upper shield layer and a magnetic layer.