This application discloses a method and an apparatus for controlling an optical switch matrix. The method includes: setting row drives corresponding to P input ports to a reset row drive value, and setting column drives corresponding to Q output ports to a reset column drive value, so that optical switches at intersections are in a first state; successively setting, based on time, a row drive corresponding to an ith input port to values in a switching row drive sequence, and successively setting, based on time, a column drive corresponding to a jth output port to values in a switching column drive sequence, so that a target optical switch in the P×Q optical switches remains in the first state, and the other optical switches are switched from the first state to a second state in first time periods.