In this paper, we propose a performance-enhanced object recognition by using nonlinear 3D correlator based on pixel restoration. In the proposed method, elemental images of the 3D target that are partially occluded by a foreground object are picked up and transformed into sub-images. By using the block-matching algorithm, the occluded target regions of each sub-image are estimated and removed. After that, the missing pixels in each sub-image are reestablished by using the pixel-restoration method. Finally, through the nonlinear cross-correlations between the reconstructed reference and the target plane images, the improved object recognition can be performed. To show the feasibility of the proposed method, some preliminary experiments are carried out and results are presented by comparing the conventional method.