Disclosed are a method and a device for identifying a virus APK. The method comprises: presetting a virus database comprising a virus characteristic code; detecting whether a designated file in a target Android installation package APK contains the virus characteristic code; and if yes, determining that the target Android installation package APK is a virus APK. In the application, the virus APK and a variation thereof can be rapidly, accurately and effectively identified, thereby improving the security of an APK application.