An infrared target detecting algorithm of sea-sky background based on Wiener filtering is proposed for the low SNR of infrared target in sea-sky background, as well as the influences of sea clutter and cloud layer. The background estimation of the infrared image is realized by wiener filtering, the sea-sky line is estimated by multi-gradient operator, and then the potential target area is identified. The target location is determined by adaptive threshold segmentation. At last, the false target is eliminated by the multi-gradient feature. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has good robustness and could suppress cloud layer and sea clutter. © 2015, China Ordnance Society. All right reserved.