Real-time detection algorithm for dim small moving target in image sequences is one of the key algorithms in optical image precise homing guidance systems.At first a brief introduction of current detection algorithms based on temporal profile analysis is addressed

and then noise and target's pixel temporal profile variance is thoroughly studied

finally a detection algorithm based on adaptive recursive variance filter(ARVF) is proposed.The designed algorithm can be used to improve the signal to noise ratio(SNR)

so that the point target is easily segmented out.The results of simulated temporal sequences and real image data experiments show that the target(detection's) aim can be fully reached.The proposed algorithm can be implemented recursively and in parallel

which is practical for real-time homing guidance systems.The limitation of the algorithm and future work are also briefly discussed.