The present disclosure discloses a method, an apparatus and a system for device identification. A specific implementation of the method comprises: receiving a device identification request sent from a terminal device, the device identification request comprising a current user identifier of a current user of the terminal device; acquiring a public key in a preset asymmetric key pair to serve as a first public key; sending the first public key and a randomly-generated first random number to the terminal device; receiving device characteristic information sent from the terminal device, the device characteristic information being generated by the terminal device based on the current user identifier, the first public key, the first random number and a device identifier of the terminal device; and identifying the terminal device based on the current user identifier, the first random number and the device characteristic information. The implementation increases difficulty in intercepting, by attackers, the device characteristic information of the terminal device and enhancing the security of accessing the server by the terminal device.