Gesture is an important means of nonverbal communication and used in conveying messages before the advent of language. With the development of computer technology, gesture interaction has become a trend of natural and harmonious human-computer interaction. Accurate and efficient hand gesture recognition is the key to gesture interaction, not only in the interaction between human and electronic devices, but also in the interaction among users in virtual reality systems. Efficient gesture recognition demands users devote more attention to what gestures express, instead of features unrelated to gesture meaning. Therefore, the present study explored whether the processing of gesture orientation and the left/right hand information, the gesture features unrelated to gesture meaning, can be modulated by static and dynamic presentation in human’s recognition of manipulation gestures. The results showed that gesture orientation can be processed in recognition of static gestures of function-based manipulation (for example, hold a lighter and press a switch with thumb), but not dynamic gestures. However, gesture orientation can be processed in the recognition of dynamic gestures of structure-based manipulation (for example, pick up the lighter with your thumb and forefinger), the left/right hand information can be processed in the recognition of static gestures. It indicated that static and dynamic gesture presentation affected the recognition of manipulation gestures, and had different influence on structure- and function-based manipulation gestures. It suggested that dynamic function-based manipulation gestures were better options in human computer interaction, and the information unrelated to the meaning of gestures should be taken into consideration when presenting structure-based manipulation gestures, in order to ensure the successful gesture recognition. The findings provide theoretical guidance for the design of gesture interaction methods. © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018.