This application relates to a thumbnail display method and an electronic device. In an example technical solution, a target picture may have a plurality of thumbnails with different dimensions. When displaying a thumbnail with a relatively large dimension of the target picture, the electronic device may first display a thumbnail with a relatively small dimension of the target picture, decode the thumbnail with the relatively large dimension in a background, and replace the thumbnail with the relatively small dimension with the thumbnail with the relatively large dimension after decoding is completed.