With the development and application of micro-satellites, proximity inspection of spacecraft has become a new area of space mission. It plays an important role in Space Situational Awareness and on-orbit servicing, ensuring broad application prospects. The current study developed a new method of guidance for proximity scanning inspection of non-cooperative space targets based on the modified artificial potential field method. First, the attractive potential function and repulsion potential function were formulated. The former, parallel to the surface of the target, guides the inspector from the initial position to the goal position. The latter, perpendicular to the surface of the target, is used to deal with the constraint conditions like image resolution, minimum angle of observation and collision avoidance constraint etc. Simulation results demonstrate that the inspector can follow the surface of the target well and conduct a coherent and stable scanning inspection. Furthermore, it requires less computational effort and is easier to realize on the inspector.