A method for analyzing fingerprint images includes picking up a sequence of images at very short time intervals, while a finger is being placed onto an electronic fingerprint sensor. A criterion for recognizing a live finger is extracted from variations in the images. The images are defined as a pixel raster having different gray values, with the aid of which the pixels are assigned binary values of zero or one. Significant changes in the values are detected and compared, with the aid of distinctive numbers or the like, to known typical changes that occur regularly in a particular image class.