Abstract: A novel statistical distribution model, the α-stable family models of the image's DCT coefficients, is proposed. Basing on images DCT coefficients statistical characteristics, together with both theoretical analysis and experimental testifying, it is known that the image DCT coefficients obey the α-stable family distribution model, which has enough flexibility and whose distributing shape changes with the change of characteristic index α. These image textures and details are in inverse to the characteristic index α. The richer the image detail is, the smaller the characteristic index α is.