A novel image fusion algorithm based on à trous-contourlet transform was proposed. Firstly, image was decomposed with multi-resolution using à trous-contourlet transform, and then in the transfer domain, a selection principle with the varieties of directional bandpass subband coefficients based on matching calculate of regional energy was developed, which was used in image fusion for infrared and visible images. Compared with other methods, the results of experiment show that the proposed algorithm is valid to fusion infrared and visible images, and acquired better results.