A method for determining a precoding matrix indicator, user equipment, and a base station are disclosed in embodiments of the present invention. The method includes: receiving a first reference signal set sent by a base station, where the first reference signal set is associated with a user equipment-specific matrix or matrix set; selecting a precoding matrix based on the first reference signal set, where the precoding matrix is a function of the user equipment-specific matrix or matrix set; and sending a precoding matrix indicator to the base station, where the precoding matrix indicator corresponds to the selected precoding matrix. In the embodiments of the present invention, CSI feedback precision can be improved without excessively increasing feedback overhead, thereby improving system performance.