To provide an apparatus and method for managing an address book in a portable terminal.

A portable terminal which comprises an address book for classifying private information into at least one item and storing it and searches the private information from the address book to communicate with an individual, comprises: a camera section adapted to photograph a text to output a text image signal; an image processing section adapted to convert a text image signal into digital image data; a text conversion section adapted to convert digital image data into text data with the use of a text recognition program; and a control section adapted to store private information text data of the converted text data in a corresponding item of the address book when one or more items of the address book include an item coinciding with an item of text data converted by the text conversion section.