The invention relates to a graphical inspection system and an inspection method. The inspection system is characterized by comprising an identification tag, a handheld intelligent terminal for identifying the identification tag, and a server in communicated connection with the handheld intelligent terminal, wherein the handheld intelligent terminal comprises an engine body, a touch display panel arranged on the front surface of the engine body, a tag identification module which is arranged in the engine body and is in communicated connection with the touch display panel, a processing module in communicated connection with the tag identification module, and a data archiving module in communicated connection with the processing module, the data archiving module is in communicated connection with the server, the processing module comprises a warning illustration module, a graphical inspection module, an intelligent line inspection module, a device location module, an exception management module and a statistical query module, which are all in communicated connection with the tag identification module. The inspection system has the beneficial effects of showing inspection or line inspection content in graphical form, effectively and intuitively reminding workers of carrying out specific activities, and effectively improving inspection efficiency and quality.