In　order　to　realize　the　energy　saving　of　the　backlight　in　liquid　crystal　display　(LCD)　with　approximate　image　quality,　a　human　visual　characteristics　guided　backlight　luminance　scaling　method　is　proposed　for　power　minimization.　Image　histogram　clipping　and　extension　steps　are　firstly　established　based　on　the　luminance　consistency　theory.　Dark　and　bright　regions　of　the　image　are　weighted　respectively　based　on　the　human　visual　threshold　property　and　then　the　histogram　is　clipped　to　the　restricted　range.　To　compensate　the　degrading　of　the　backlight,　visual　attention　architecture　is　then　imported　to　extend　the　histogram　nonlinearly　and　assign　the　complex　image　region　with　a　larger　weight.　Experimental　results　show　that　the　algorithm　can　save　about　50%　backlight　energy　with　5%　image　distortion.　©　2009　Tianjin　University　of　Technology　and　Springer　Berlin　Heidelberg.