The invention provides a real-time face recognition method based on a deep neural network and adjacent element analysis. According to the invention, at first, a multi-layer neural network is practiced through a large-scale face database having the advantage of good diversity, wherein layers besides the last layer are non-linear layers, and the tail layer is a linear layer; then, the obtained network is practiced continuously on the basis of a hybrid face database through the supervised adjacent element analysis method to make the network has more deep understanding of face images so as to achieve the purposes of shorting the face image distance between same individuals and increasing the face image distance between different individuals; and finally, in the actual face recognition stage, the invention provides a concept of 'search radius', so the recognition time can be shortened on the premise of ensuring the recognition rate to realize real-time face recognition. According to the invention, the advantage of high recognition rate can be realized, and at the same time, according to the invention, the advantage of fast recognition speed can be realized, so that the methof of the invention is suitable for being applied in real-time face recognition tasks.