This paper numerically investigates the effects of pass arrangement on the flow distribution characteristics and the performance of a multi-pass multi-branch heat exchanger. Four cases of pass arrangement (2, 4, 6, 8 pass) are chosen to select a proper pass arrangement. A JF factor is used as an evaluation characteristic value to consider the heat transfer and the pressure drop. The present results indicate that 4-pass heat exchanger shows the best performance, and the design parameters in 4-pass heat exchanger are optimized. The design parameters are the locations of the inlet, outlet and separator, and are optimized using a response surface methodology. The JF factor of the optimum model is increased by about 9.3%, compared to that of the reference model (2-pass heat exchanger).