The invention discloses a DEM-based automatic identification and boundary extraction method of a moon surface impact crater. The method comprises the following steps that 1, catchment analysis is conducted on a moon surface DEM elevation domain, and catchment dividing and generating are conducted; 2, spatial alternation is conducted on the DEM elevation domain, and the processed moon surface elevation domain is changed to an artificial terrain domain to be used for identifying sunken areas of different sizes; 3, edge expanding is conducted on the sunken areas through a neighborhood expansion algorithm, and a complete impact crater area is obtained; 4, the boundary of the impact crater area is fitted through the Fourier Series, and the precise shape of the impact crater is extracted. The problem that the complex moon surface is complex due to the overlaying impact craters and is difficult to identify completely is solved, the integrity of the identifying result is guaranteed, the boundary of the impact crater object is fitted through the Fourier Series, and the actual shape parameter of the crater is extracted, and accuracy of the extraction result is guaranteed.