The invention provides a method for examining road conditions and a mobile terminal. The mobile terminal includes a camera having infrared photographing function. The method includes the following steps: controlling the mobile terminal to photograph front road conditions under an infrared mode, obtaining a photographed image; analyzing the photographed image, obtaining corresponding characteristic data; and when the characteristic data meet preset conditions of data correlation, outputting corresponding alert information. The method and the mobile terminal effectively guarantee safety of users when driving vehicles.