The invention belongs to the field of traffic condition prediction, and relates to a method for discovering a congestion time period based on a composite network. According to the method, a compositenetwork of an intersection network and a sensor network is constructed based on a
complex network theory, and a congestion time period in the
traffic network can be accurately judged. The method is implemented specifically according to the following steps: firstly, a congestion index Ti, a congestion time period and congestion level quantization are defined, then the congestion time period is calculated through establishing a mapping relation between the intersection network and the sensor network and performing congestion time
period analysis, and finally frequent congestion time
period analysis is performed. The model established according to the method is simple, the calculation data amount is small, the
processing process is concise and clear, the
operability and the practicability aregood, and effective implementation is facilitated. Meanwhile, the overall design is ingenious in conception, the required infrastructure are easy to obtain, the prediction process is simple, the application environment is friendly, and the market prospect is broad.