The present invention discloses a data sending method and apparatus, which resolves a problem that performance of a high coding rate LDPC code obtained in an existing puncturing manner based on a variable node degree distribution is relatively poor because in the puncturing manner, to-be-punctured parity bits that use LDPC codes cannot be effectively distinguished. The method includes: encoding, by using an LDPC code check matrix, an information bit that needs to be sent, to obtain a codeword sequence; determining a puncturing priority of each parity bit in the codeword sequence according to row destruction and/or cycle destruction, on the LDPC code check matrix, of a variable node corresponding to each parity bit; puncturing the codeword sequence according to the puncturing priority of each parity bit in the codeword sequence; and generating a bit sequence according to the punctured codeword sequence, and sending the bit sequence. In this way, performance of an obtained high coding rate LDPC code is improved.