An encoding method and device for ensuring to have excellent BER performance in both of a low encoding rate and a high encoding rate in a Rate-Compatible LDPC (low-density parity-check) code. When, in encoding the LDPC code in which all parity check matrices are composed of a plurality of cyclic matrices and which has a plurality of encoding rates, the weight of the maximum column of cyclic matrices constituting the check matrices of a code the encoding rate of which is not the lowest value in the encoding rates is defined as w0 andthe weight of the maximum column of cyclic matrices constituting the check matrices of a code having an encoding rate lower than that is defined as w1, an encoding section (121) performs encoding so as to achieve 1 < w0 and w1 < w0.