A method for identifying a user operation mode on a handheld device and a handheld device is presented, where the method includes, when it is detected that a finger of a user slides on a screen of the handheld device, acquiring sliding information of the finger of the user in a sliding process, and identifying an operation mode of the user according to the sliding information of the finger of the user in the sliding process, where the operation mode includes a left-hand operation mode and a right-hand operation mode. Using the foregoing manner, a user operation mode may be identified and accuracy of identification can be increased, without an additional cost.