The　paper　proposes　a　fast　method　that　uses　the　lips　color　information　in　the　Lab　color　space　and　the　pre-knowledge　of　geometric　characteristics　around　lip　areas　to　extract　the　lip　contour　and　visual　speech　features　from　color　images　or　video　sequences　with　front　talking　faces.　In　our　method,　the　Adaboost　algorithm　is　utilized　to　realize　the　face　detection.　Then,　the　mouth　area　is　segmented　based　on　the　face　shape　attribution.　According　to　the　relative　position　of　the　trough　and　crest　of　the　histogram,　we　can　get　an　adaptive　threshold.　The　A-component　in　the　Lab　color　space　was　used　to　extract　the　outer　lip　and　the　L-component　is　used　to　extract　the　inner　lip.　From　the　contour　image,　we　obtain　the　feature　by　searching　twice　the　points　of　the　contour.　The　experimental　results　show　that　obtained　visual　feature　values　in　our　approach　are　approximate　to　that　with　AAM　algorithm　but　with　less　computation　complexity.　©　(2012)　Trans　Tech　Publications,　Switzerland.