Abstract: A new small moving target detection algorithm in infrared image sequences is presented to reduce the energy scattering in dynamic programming-based algorithm. Based on the property of target motion, a Gaussian template is built to model target position in the next frame. Our algorithm uses probability not hard constrain, so it can overcome the randomicity of target motion. Experiments with real infrared image sequences show our algorithm can greatly reduce the energy scattering in dynamic programming-based algorithm.