The invention relates to an identity verification method, which comprises the following steps that: when a first terminal receives a first instruction, the first terminal sends an identity verification program to a second terminal which is in communication with the first terminal; when the second terminal runs the identity verification program, an image acquisition device of the second terminal acquires an image, and the second terminal sends the acquired image and second identity information of the second terminal to the verification device; the verification device inquires an image of a userof a second terminal corresponding to the second identity information, the verification device verifies whether the collected image is matched with the image of the user, and/or the verification device inquires target identity information corresponding to the collected image, and the verification device verifies whether the target identity information is matched with the second identity information; and the verification device sends a verification result to the first terminal. According to the embodiment of the invention, the user A can complete the verification of the user identity of the second terminal without initiating complex operations such as video chatting, and the verification process is simple and rapid.