To increase the users’ intelligibility of animated icons and enhance their cognitive efficiency in Human-Machine Interface (HMI), this study proposes an evaluation method of animated icons based on user satisfaction. Four animated icon forms including horizontal motion, vertical motion, rotation, and scale are redefined based on speed, path, amplitude, and direction. The psychophysical method is conducted obtain the upper threshold, the appropriate threshold and the lower threshold of the animated icons’ motion time, then the correlative models are built between the motion time and the motion amplitude of icons. The 7-point Likert-type scale is used to measure the appropriate motion amplitude of animated icon, motion time and amplitude of animated icons are compared and analyzed by ANOVA and LSD tests. The experimental results show that the most appropriate motion time was about 450 ms, the action time and the action amplitude is positively correlated amplitude and complexity of animated icons, even the size of smartphones is crucial to the design of animated icons. This method provides one quantitative model for the design of animated icons in HMI, the findings can serve as a useful therotical guideline when animated icons are researched or designed.