A handheld terminal with a transparent display unit is provided. The handheld terminal includes a first transparent display unit disposed on one of a front side and a back side of the handheld terminal, a second transparent display unit disposed on the other side, or a first and a second gesture detection units disposed on the two sides respectively, a drive module including a first display drive module for the first transparent display unit, and one of the following two constituent parts: a second display drive module for the second transparent display unit, or a first and a second gesture detection drive modules for the first and second gesture detection units respectively, and a processing module configured to cause an image to be displayed on the first transparent display unit.