Abstract: The present invention discloses a non-interferometric, non-iterative complex amplitude reading method and apparatus. The reading method includes the following steps: diffracting a light beam containing amplitude information and phase information to obtain a diffraction pattern with intensity variations; constructing a diffraction intensity-complex amplitude model and training it based on the correlation between the diffraction pattern and amplitude information and phase information, and applying the trained model directly to new diffraction images to obtain amplitude information and phase information. The method can achieve detection of complex amplitude information, including amplitude and phase, from a single diffraction image, improve the stability and accuracy of phase reading results, increase the calculation speed, and simplify the optical system. It is suitable for applications in holographic storage, biomedical image processing, and microscopic imaging, among others.