To solve the low precision and efficiency problem of traditional theodolite system due to manual target alignment, a new automatic laser theodolite system was presented which could realize automatic measurement by using a guidance system consisting of a digital camera mounted on servo stages rotating in horizontal and vertical directions. The TM5100A motorized theodolites were used to point at the view field of the camera to realize the guidance process, and then the recognition and measurement process was completed by using the recognition and measurement method. The former method was emphatically introduced and analyzed. The simulation and test result shows that the guidance methodology is feasible and efficient to realize accurate guidance of the theodolites.