Abstract A multiple-image encryption scheme is proposed based on the asymmetric technique, in which the encryption keys are not identical to the decryption ones. First, each plain image is scrambled based on a sequence of chaotic pairs generated with a system of two symmetrically coupled identical logistic maps. Then, the phase-only function of each scrambled image is retrieved with an iterative phase retrieval process in the fractional Fourier transform domain. Second, all phase-only functions are modulated into an interim, which is encrypted into the ciphertext with stationary white noise distribution by using the fractional Fourier transform and chaotic diffusion. In the encryption process, three random phase functions are used as encryption keys to retrieve the phase-only functions of plain images. Simultaneously, three decryption keys are generated in the encryption process, which make the proposed encryption scheme has high security against various attacks, such as chosen plaintext attack. The peak signal-to-noise is used to evaluate the quality of the decrypted image, which shows that the encryption capacity of the proposed scheme is enhanced considerably. Numerical simulations demonstrate the validity and efficiency of the proposed method.