The invention belongs to the technical field of communication, calculation and radar, and particularly relates to an optical domain cross-correlation operation method and device based on the Talbot effect, and the device comprises a mode-locked laser, a photoelectric modulator, an IQ modulator, a 90-degree optical mixer, a balance photoelectric detector, a photoelectric detector and the like. Themethod comprises the following steps of: performing phase modulation and signal amplitude modulation to be operated on two paths of pulse strings; frequency spectrum information to be operated is obtained under the time domain Talbert effect, then a frequency domain real part and an imaginary part of a signal correlation result are obtained through a 90-degree optical mixer, finally IQ modulationis carried out on a new pulse string, and a signal bearing the time domain correlation result is obtained through the time domain Talbert effect again. According to the method, the time domain Talberteffect of light is applied, correlation operation of signals is achieved through discrete Fourier transform of the signals and the 90-degree optical mixer, and the method has the advantages that theoperation speed is high, the result error is small, and the processing bandwidth is large by adopting the light method.