Abstract: Localization of body surface features is needed for the correctness of localizing acupuncture points that determines the acupuncture effect. In this paper, a novel optical method was presented for locating surface features. Firstly, the images around the human model were collected using a camera on a designed optical platform; Then, the images were processed using Gabor filter into magnitude response, and the local maximum were obtained; Finally, the contour features localizing anatomical landmarks were extracted. To test the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed method, the features in gray and binary images were respectively extracted using the edge detection operators (Sobel, Canny, LoG and Gabor operator). It is found that, the contour features by Gabor filter are continuous and clearest; and the filtering effects of the binary images are better than that of the gray. The results show that the proposed method is valid for locating accurately and quickly the surface contour features, and it lays a foundation for further extracting anatomical landmark based on contour features and studying the optical method localizing the acupoints.