Absorption-resorption heat transformer (ARHT) can realize the efficient utilization of low-grade heat under lower operating pressure than traditional absorption heat transformer (AHT), but the application is limited by the low coefficient of performance (COP). In this paper, an ammonia-water solution cross-type absorption-resorption heat transformer is proposed to improve the performance. The rectifier can be eliminated because the component can be balanced with the adjustment of solution's mass flow rate between the absorber and resorber. A thermodynamic model is established to investigate the influences of different parameters on the coefficient of performance. The results reveal that: When the high/low pressure pair is 1.5/0.48 MPa and the temperatures of generator, absorber, resorber and desorber are 105 °C, 80 °C, 80 °C and 4 °C, the COP of the proposed system can reach 0.4049, which is 19 % higher than traditional ARHT, resulting in a corresponding gross temperature lift (GTL) is 25 °C. Besides, the proposed system has wider working temperature ranges than the traditional system. The advantages of the proposed system also include the lower optimal low-pressure values. Therefore, the ammonia-water solution cross-type absorption-resorption heat transformer is appropriate for working in larger pressure differences and makes waste heat recovery more economical and efficient.