A method for generating an identification pattern, a terminal device, and the like are provided. The method includes: obtaining a first image (110), where the first image is used to represent any one of a Chinese character, an English character, and an Arabic numeral character; performing transformation on the first image based on a contour line of the first image to obtain a second image (120), where the second image includes the first image and a plurality of contour lines; and generating an identification pattern of a software program based on the second image (130). This application can improve a display effect of the identifier pattern.