Aiming at the identification problem based on palm vein,the texture c haracteristics of the palm vein image are analyzed,and a recognition method using improved S-transform energy f eature is proposed.Firstly,the 2D discrete orthonormal S-transform (2D-DOST) is used for palm vein image,and the frequency domain image is obtained after the transform as a reflection of palm vein texture features,whic h is called S transform energy surface (STES),then the energy difference surface is got from the subtraction o peration between the different palm vein energy surfaces.Furthermore,the standard deviation can be calculated from it,which will be a basis for the classification of different palm vein images.Experimental tests based on the common standard contact palm vein database show that the correct recognition rate of this method is 99.8925%,and the recognition time is 0.0173s.At the same time,the actual effect tests are carried out using a self designed acquisition instrument in contactless environment.The results show that the correct recognition rate can reach 99.4806%,and the recognition time is 0.0202s.These demonstrate that the propo sed method has certain advantages compared with other typical and popular algorithms,which is feasible and effective for improv ing the performance of palm vein recognition system.