The present invention provides a method and a system for setting a video cover, which belongs to the field of video processing technology. The method includes: receiving, by a codec service cluster, a cover creation request carrying cover parameters of a target video, and obtaining, by the codec service cluster, a video file of the target video, wherein the cover parameters at least include a video segment identifier, a video segment rewind demand, and a video segment playback speed; according to the cover parameters of the target video and the video file of the target video, generating, by the codec service cluster, a cover video file of the target video; and feeding back, by the codec service cluster, the cover video file of the target video to enable a feedback receiver to set the video cover for the target video based on the cover video file. By adopting the present invention, the video cover can substantially effectively and intuitively display characteristics of the entire video, and the user can substantially accurately judge the video content through the video cover.