The invention provides a container crane and a method for loading and unloading containers using the crane. The container crane comprises a crane girder (3), a main trolley (1) which can move along the crane girder (3), a main trolley lifting appliance (2) which moves along with the main trolley (1), a support pillar (4), a transferring and lifting platform (5) for lifting up and down the containers to be loaded and unloaded, and an auxiliary trolley mechanism, wherein, the auxiliary trolley mechanism comprises an auxiliary trolley (6) which is movably arranged along the crane girder (3), and an auxiliary trolley lifting appliance (7) which is arranged on the auxiliary trolley (6) and is used for loading and unloading the containers on the transferring and lifting platform (5). The container crane provided by the invention has the advantages of reasonably optimizing setup of combined operation nodes, maximally reducing the possibility of waiting for a container truck during the loading and unloading process, enhancing cost performance of equipment, and improving operating efficiency. The container crane is used for loading and unloading the containers by utilizing the method.