The invention provides a gravity-gradient-invariant-based method for estimating an 
orbit element. The method comprises: step one, carrying out preparation work; step two, carrying out 
decomposition of an ideal 
gravity gradient tensor under an east-noth-up (ENU) coordinate 
system and obtaining feature values; step three, solving 
decomposition of a measuring epoch J2 model gravity field 
tensor under the ENU coordinate 
system and obtaining feature values; step four, solving all measuring epochs r and phi by using feature values of a J2 
gravity gradient matrix; step five, calculating an initial 
orbit element by using the r and phi; and step six, carrying out 
orbit element 
smoothing. Therefore, with utilization of the 
gravity gradient matrix invariant information measured during the 
satellite operating process, a geometrical distance between the 
satellite and the earth's core and the 
latitude of the earth's core are obtained by iterative solution; a measurement equation that uses a semi-major axis, an eccentricity ratio, an orbit inclination angle, a perigee depression angle, and a true anomaly in an orbital element as state parameters is provided by using an obtained data as an observed quantity; and a perturbation kinetic equation of the orbital element is introduced innovatively and five 
orbital elements are estimated by using a batching least square method. The gravity-gradient-invariant-based method has advantages of high autonomous degree, high anti-interference capability, and low building cost and the like and has advantages that the traditional method does not have in the 
deep space exploration field.