Embodiments of the present invention disclose a wireless backhaul connection establishment method and apparatus. According to the embodiments of the present invention, a first base station obtains a valid backhaul capability of a neighboring base station, where the neighboring base station is a base station that can perform wireless communication with the first base station, and the valid backhaul capability reflects a maximum capability of a base station to serve a newly-added backhaul service; the first base station selects an upstream base station from the neighboring base station according to the valid backhaul capability of the neighboring base station and a backhaul service requirement for the first base station, where the upstream base station is configured to provide a wireless backhaul relay service for the first base station; and the first base station establishes a wireless backhaul connection with the upstream base station.