In order to improve the prediction accuracy of long-term traffic flow. A method for predicting long-term traffic flow in different time periods based on BP neural network is proposed, which is optimized by Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm. The new solution is improved by Tent chaotic, to realize the chaotic search strategy. Then artificial bee colony algorithm is used to optimize the weights and thresholds of the BP neural network, to obtain the optimal value by BP neural network. This forecasting method was applied to Huangtian Road in Hefei the accurate prediction of long-term traffic flow is realized. Compared with the traditional artificial bee colony optimization BP neural network prediction, it can effectively improve the prediction accuracy and reduce the prediction error.