Based on the concept of the entransy which characterizes heat transfer ability, a new heat exchanger performance evaluation criterion termed the entransy dissipation number is established. Our analysis shows that the decrease of the entransy dissipation number always increases the heat exchanger effectiveness for fixed heat capacity rate ratio. Therefore, the smaller the entransy dissipation number, the better the heat exchanger performance is. The entransy dissipation number in terms of the number of exchanger heat transfer units or heat capacity rate ratio correctly exhibits the global performance of the counter-, cross- and parallel-flow heat exchangers. In comparison with the heat exchanger performance evaluation criteria based on entropy generation, the entransy dissipation number demonstrates some distinct advantages. Furthermore, the entransy dissipation number reflects the degree of irreversibility caused by flow imbalance.