Disclosed herein are an apparatus and method for detecting an upstream RF signal based on a preamble. The apparatus for detecting an upstream RF signal based on a preamble includes an analog-to-digital converter unit for receiving an RF analog signal and converting the same into an RF digital signal; a down-converter unit for converting the RF digital signal into a baseband digital signal; a packet detection unit for performing packet detection by performing an operation on the baseband digital signal and preset differential preamble signals; and a timing calculation unit for generating timing information of a terminal device based on the baseband digital signal and time information generated through the packet detection.