A fingerprint authentication method includes a first step of acquiring partial fingerprint measurement data for a part of a fingerprint, and a second step of calculating a matching rate by comparing the partial fingerprint measurement data with reference comparison data selected among a plurality of partial fingerprint registration data, each partial fingerprint registration data corresponding to a part of a fingerprint. The method further includes a third step of determining whether the matching rate is equal to or greater than an authentication threshold and a fourth step of determining, based on a result in the third step, a success of the authentication, or repeating the second and third steps by selecting new reference comparison data based on whether or not the matching rate is equal to or greater than a preset threshold smaller than the authentication threshold.