1. An image retrieval system, comprising: an image input section for inputting a retrieval target image; an image data base for storing image data; a retrieval section for retrieving a plurality of images similar to said retrieval target image, by using a target feature of said retrieval target image from said image data base; a filtering processing section for carrying out filtering processing using a whole image feature different from said target feature of said retrieval target image about said plurality of images, to obtain a filtering result; and an outputting section for outputting said filtering result, wherein both the whole image feature and the target feature are extracted from the retrieval target image.