This application provides a random access method and apparatus applicable to satellite communication. The method includes: obtaining a round-trip transmission latency tRTD of a signal between a terminal device and a satellite; obtaining a random access parameter based on the tRTD, where the random access parameter includes one or more of: a duration between a moment at which the terminal device sends a random access preamble and a moment at which the terminal device starts to receive a random access response RAR, a duration of a window in which the terminal device receives the RAR, a duration between a moment at which the terminal device stops receiving the RAR and a moment at which the terminal device sends the random access preamble again, and a subframe duration; and receiving, by the terminal device the RAR based on the random access parameter.