A multi-orbit hybrid image encryption scheme based on discrete chaotic dynamical systems is proposed. One generalized Arnold map is adopted to generate three orbits for three initial conditions. Another chaotic dynamical system, tent map, is applied to generate one pseudo-random sequence to determine the hybrid orbit points from which one of the three orbits of generalized Arnold map. The hybrid orbit sequence is then utilized to shuffle the pixels’ positions of plain-image so as to get one permuted image. To enhance the encryption security, two rounds of pixel gray values’ diffusion is employed as well. The proposed encryption scheme is simple and easy to manipulate. The security and performance of the proposed image encryption have been analyzed, including histograms, correlation coefficients, information entropy, key sensitivity analysis, key space analysis, differential analysis, etc. All the experimental results suggest that the proposed image encryption scheme is robust and secure and can be used for secure image and video communication applications.