Provided are method and apparatus for authenticating a password of a user terminal. The method includes: pre-setting, by a user, a password and an identification image for identifying the password; moving a keypad window or an image window realized on a screen of the user terminal according to an action of the user; determining, when a plurality of images included in the image window and a plurality of keys included in the keypad window sequentially overlap with each other, whether a plurality of keys and the identification image corresponding to the password sequentially overlap; and authenticating the password when the plurality of keys and the identification image corresponding to the password sequentially overlap. Accordingly, password information may be protected from a third person observation as the user inputs a pre-set password in an indirect method without having to directly input the pre-set password through an authentication interface.