Nighttime　video　surveillance　may　suffer　from　nonuniform　illumination　from　artificial　light　sources.　Meanwhile,　these　light　sources　which　often　result　in　so　noticeable　amounts　of　glow　that　the　objects　nearby　the　light　sources　cannot　be　seen　at　all.　To　solve　the　above　problem,　our　paper　proposed　a　novel　gradient-domain　image　enhancement　method　for　traffic　signs　in　nighttime　surveillance.　We　found　that　both　of　the　glow-removal　and　image　fusion　can　be　represented　as　a　kind　of　gradient　adjustment.　Therefore,　in　our　method,　remove　the　glow　effects　via　image　gradient　decomposition　at　first.　Then,　complementary　details　of　inter　frames　can　be　fused　together　in　the　gradient　domain.　Finally,　the　enhanced　image　will　be　obtained　via　a　Poisson　solver.　We　have　done　many　experiments　and　the　results　show　that　the　proposed　method　can　effectively　enhance　the　traffic　signs　in　nighttime　traffic　videos.　©　2017　IEEE.