A new fast searching algorithm of adaptive directional diamond is developed for H.264/AVC based on the traditional diamond searching algorithm and the prediction of the motion vector through combining some elements including hypo-optimal compensation point and adaptive compensation threshold with the optimal compensation point.As a result

the searching direction is fixed and the global optimal compensation point can be reached quickly.Experimenal results show that the searching time cost of the new algorithm decreases 40% as compared with the traditional diamond searching algorithm under the condition that the searching precision does not deteriorate

and it suits for the new video compression standard(H.264/AVC) better.