This paper presents an electrochemical-electrical-thermal coupled modeling approach for pouch-type lithium ion batteries. In the presented approach, simple and efficient analytical methods are applied to calculate the current density over the current collector and the localized heat generation rate of current collectors. The feasibility of this approach is validated with experimentation. A comprehensive simulation study on the impact of tab arrangements on the temperature distribution of pouch-type lithium ion batteries is conducted. The results demonstrate that symmetrical tab arrangements improve the uniformity of temperature distribution significantly, although they will lead to a very slight increment of the maximum temperature on the surface of pouch cell. Besides, placing the collecting tabs on the opposite sides or long side(s) of battery cell is helpful in lowering its maximum temperature and improving the uniformity of temperature distribution.