The invention provides a recycling method and a recycling system for an air conditioner coolant. The recycling method comprises the steps of closing a liquid pipe when receiving a coolant recycling instruction; controlling an air conditioner to work in a refrigeration mode if the coolant is required to be recycled to an outdoor unit according to the recycling instruction, closing an air pipe when the time that the air exhaust temperature of a compressor is higher than or equal to a first preset temperature value is detected to reach first preset time, and controlling the air conditioner to stop working; controlling the air conditioner to work in a heating mode if the coolant is required to be recycled to an indoor unit according to a recycling instruction, closing the air pipe when the time that the air exhaust temperature of the compressor is higher than or equal to a second preset temperature value is detected to reach second preset time, and controlling the air conditioner to stop working. According to the technical scheme, the coolant can be flexibly selected to be recycled to the indoor unit or the outdoor unit, so that the recycled coolant is high in quality, and whether recycling of the coolant is finished can be accurately detected.