The present invention relates to the communications field and discloses a signaling optimization method and a device, to resolve a problem of heavy signaling overheads and a long data transmission delay when UE accesses a network side. The method includes: receiving, by UE, configuration information sent by a first network side device, where the configuration information includes a list, and the list is a cell list or a base station list; and entering, by the UE, an intermediate state according to the configuration information, where the intermediate state means that: when the UE stores context information of the UE, if the UE moves and a cell movement range falls within a coverage area of a cell or a base station included in the list, the UE performs cell reselection according to the list. Embodiments of the present invention are applicable to optimization of signaling transmission between UE and a network side.