An AC permanent-magnet switched reluctance electric motor; a plurality of "C-shaped" or "U-shaped" exciting salient pole pairs or composite exciting salient pole pairs are evenly arranged on an electric motor stator base; under the excitation of the excitation current, the pennanent-magnet flux of the composite exciting salient pole pairs is fed into a magnetic excitation flux main circuit, fonning a composite
magnetic excitation potential; a plurality of pennanent magnets are fixed at equal intervals on the rotor frame of the electric motor, and the magnetic polarities of adjacent pennanent magnets on the same rotational plane are dissimilar; when the rotating shaft rotates, the two magnetic pole faces of each permanent magnet on the rotor frame successively face the two port faces of each exciting salient pole pair on the stator and fonn a closed magnetic circuit having air gaps. The structural design of the electric motor shortens the closed magnetic circuit, reduces the interference and flux leakage of a common magnetic circuit, and increases power density and device utilization, while the composite magnetic excitation potential further strengthens the magnetic induction in the air gaps of the electric motor, increasing torque such that the electric motor has high torque at low rotational speeds.