The present invention discloses an application icon display method and system for a mobile terminal. The method comprises: correspondingly dividing a plurality of application icons into at least one queue, wherein the at least one queue comprises more than two application icons; dividing at least one display area, which is used for displaying each queue in a one-to-one correspondence way on a display interface of the mobile terminal; and sequentially and cyclically displaying each application icon in a corresponding queue in each display area. According to the method and system disclosed by the present invention, a user can directly click the application icons cyclically displayed on the display area to open an application without the need for clicking to enter a folder and then searching for the application icon, so that the time of the user is saved, and the user is greatly facilitated.