<p>In most existing chaotic image encryption schemes, the secret keys are not linked to the user’s identity. If the secret keys are leaked or stolen, anyone can use them to decrypt the plaintext image, posing a security risk to the chaotic image encryption system. To address this issue, we propose a visually meaningful image encryption scheme based on human face biometric key. In our proposed encryption scheme, we use the user’s face biometrics, along with the initial values and control parameters of the chaotic system, to construct the secret keys. Since the secret keys are linked to the user’s face biometrics, only authorized user can decrypt the plaintext image information from the encrypted image. Furthermore, our proposed encryption scheme does not need to store the user’s facial biometric templates, significantly reducing the risk of the user’s identity information leakage. Moreover, in our proposed encryption scheme, the authorized user can still accurately decrypt the plaintext image information from the encrypted image, even if there are slight variations in the user’s face during the encryption and decryption process. Finally, extensive experiments have validated the feasibility, security and robustness of our proposed visually meaningful encryption scheme.</p>