A method and an apparatus for detecting an operating status of a node is provided. The method is as follows: selecting, from nodes of a transmission link established between a transmit end and a receive end, one node in the nodes as a to-be-detected node, and sending a detection instruction to the to-be-detected node; receiving a real-time control packet and a first quantity of IP data packets forwarded by the to-be-detected node, where the real-time control packet and the first quantity are returned by the to-be-detected node based on the detection instruction; determining, according to the real-time control packet, a second quantity of IP data packets that the to-be-detected node needs to bear; and obtaining a specified threshold and a quantity difference between the first quantity and the second quantity, and determining an operating status of the to-be-detected node according to the quantity difference and a value of the threshold.