A method and apparatus for controlling an operation of an electronic device are provided. The method for controlling the operation of the electronic device includes, when an event for controlling an operation of the electronic device using a feature occurs, analyzing images being input from a camera in real-time, determining a reference position based on a position of the feature within at least one image among the images being input, determining a reference region for determining the movement or non-movement of the feature, based on the determined reference position, and changing the reference position according to a position of the feature moved within the reference region.