Embodiments of the present invention disclose a picture encoding method and a terminal. The terminal includes: dividing, by a terminal based on reference information of each of a plurality of pictures, the plurality of pictures into N groups, where the reference information of each picture of a same group satisfies a preset similarity condition, and the reference information includes information that is used to describe a characteristic of the picture and that is generated when the picture is taken; and encoding, by the terminal, the N groups of pictures, where the following steps are performed on any one of the N groups of pictures: selecting a first picture from a target group based on a preset rule, and encoding the first picture, where the first picture is a picture first encoded in the target group, and the target group is any one of the N groups of pictures; selecting a reference picture for a second picture from the target group, where the second picture is a picture in the target group other than the first picture; and performing motion estimation on the second picture by using the reference picture, to encode the second picture. Use of the embodiments of the present invention can make a data volume of obtained encoded information smaller.