Abstract Many studies refer that the figure knuckle comprises unique features. Therefore, it can be utilized in a biometric system to distinguishing between the peoples. In this paper, a combined global and local features technique has been proposed based on two descriptors, namely: Chebyshev Fourier moments (CHFMs) and Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) descriptors. The CHFMs descriptor is used to gaining the global features, while the scale invariant feature transform descriptor is utilized to extract local features. Each one of these descriptors has its advantages; therefore, combining them together leads to produce distinct features. Many experiments have been carried out using IIT-Delhi knuckle database to assess the accuracy of the proposed approach. The analysis of the results of these extensive experiments implies that the suggested technique has gained 98% accuracy rate. Furthermore, the robustness against the noise has been evaluated. The results of these experiments lead to concluding that the proposed technique is robust against the noise variation. Keywords: finger knuckle, biometric system, Chebyshev Fourier moments, scale invariant feature transform, IIT-Delhi knuckle database.