The invention relates to a driver fatigue detection method based on face video analysis, belonging to the field of vehicle active safety and mode recognition. The method comprises the steps of: carrying out face detection on a face image to be detected for primarily positioning local organs, such as eyes, nose and mouth; further obtaining face characteristic points positioned accurately; and finally, on the basis of an accurate positioning result of multiple frames of face characteristic points to be detected, carrying out quantization description on a face motion characteristic, and obtaining the result of fatigue detection on a driver to be detected according to a face motion statistical indicator. The driver fatigue detection method has high reliability, has no special requirements on hardware, does not involve complex operation, and has good instantaneity so as to be applied in real time in practice. The driver fatigue detection method has better robustness on the aspects of eyeglasses wearing, face angles, nonuniform illumination and the like, and can be suitable for various types of vehicles for reminding a driver of being in a fatigue state so that traffic accidents are avoided.