The invention provides a method for extracting metal indium from waste residues generated from lead and zinc smelting. The method is implemented by the following steps: carrying out low-temperature and low-acid leaching on the waste residues generated from the lead and zinc smelting, and removing acid-soluble metals from the waste residues; then carrying out high-temperature and high-acid leachingto obtain indium; and obtaining the metal indium after extraction, re-extraction, reduction and refining. The method has relatively short process flow and low production cost, generates a great amount of byproducts, can comprehensively recover and recycle waste water and the waste residues, is not only good for environmental protection, but also realizes cyclic and comprehensive resource use. Thetotal recovery rate of the metal indium is 70-80%, and the recovery rate of high-purity metal indium is up to 99.995%.