The invention discloses a gesture sensing method, a gesture sensing device and an audio/video playing system, and relates to the technical field of image detection and processing. The gesture sensing method comprises the following steps: S1, a current frame video image of an area to be detected is acquired by a camera and received; S2, the current frame video image is compared with a previous frame video image, a S3 is executed if pixels are different, and a S4 is executed otherwise; S3, current different pixel point coordinates are acquired and saved, and the S1 is returned to; S4, the saved different pixel point coordinates are compared to obtain gesture information; S5, audio/video playing on a display device is controlled according to the gesture information. According to the gesture sensing method, the gesture sensing device and the audio/video playing system, infrared camera shooting is used for sensing and triggering control, a user can wave hands to control operational instructions including audio playing / pause, video playing / pause, circulation, special effects and the like, therefore, operation is simple, playing is flexible, and adaptability is strong.