Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for acquiring a UE capability, a terminal, and a base station. A method for acquiring a UE capability includes: receiving, by a target base station, a handover request sent by a core network device or a source base station, where the handover request carries first UE capability information; and if the first UE capability information indicates an incomplete capability of a UE, after the UE is handed over to the target base station, the target base station determines, according to the first UE capability information, whether to acquire a complete capability of the UE.