A screen icon operating method is provided. The method includes: collecting user sliding operation information, where the sliding operation information includes: a first location, a sliding speed, pressing duration before sliding, or a sliding direction (S201), and the first location is an initial location of a user sliding operation; and when the first location is not located on an icon, if the sliding speed is less than a sliding speed threshold, moving icons on a display page by columns or by rows in the sliding direction (S204); or when the first location is located on the icon, determining that the pressing duration is greater than or equal to a first duration threshold and less than or equal to a second duration threshold, and moving column icons or row icons in the sliding direction (S207). According to the method, a corresponding icon can be quickly found, and for a large-screen terminal device whose size exceeds a specific size, operations can be quickly implemented with one hand. Therefore, the operations are more simple and convenient.