Embodiments of the present invention provide an image display method, apparatus, and system. After an image display instruction is obtained, an application program that triggers the image display instruction is determined, and an image is processed according to the application program and is sent to a client for display. Because image processing is performed according to an application program currently triggered by the client, a determined image processing policy meets current application requirements of the client, which avoids the problem in the prior art that an image finally displayed on the client does not meet current application requirements of the client when an image processing policy is determined according to image type recognition.