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Introduction: As an important human-computer interaction technology, steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) plays a key role in the application of brain computer interface (BCI) systems by accurately decoding SSVEP signals. Currently, the majority SSVEP feature recognition methods use a static classifier. However, electroencephalogram (EEG) signals are non-stationary and timevarying. Hence, an adaptive classification method would be an alternative option to a static classifier for tracking the changes in EEG feature distribution, as its parameters can be re-estimated and updated with the input of new EEG data. Methods: In this study, an unsupervised adaptive classification algorithm is designed based on the self-similarity of same-frequency signals. The proposed classification algorithm saves the EEG data that has undergone feature recognition as a template signal in accordance with its estimated label, and the new testing signal is superimposed with the template signals at each stimulus frequency as the new test signals to be analyzed. With the continuous input of EEG data, the template signals are continuously updated. Results: By comparing the classification accuracy of the original testing signal and the testing signal superimposed with the template signals, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of using the self-similarity of same-frequency signals in the adaptive classification algorithm. The experimental results also show that the longer the SSVEP-BCI system is used, the better the responses of users on SSVEP are, and the more significantly the adaptive classification algorithm performs in terms of feature recognition. The testing results of two public datasets show that the adaptive classification algorithm outperforms the static classification method in terms of feature recognition. Discussion: The proposed adaptive classification algorithm can update the parameters with the input of new EEG data, which is of favorable impact for the accurate analysis of EEG data with time-varying characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]