The present disclosure relates to methods and devices for obtaining path information of a data packet. One example method includes receiving, by a network device, a data packet transmitted in a network, and obtaining, by the network device, path information of the data packet from a source end to a destination end, where the path information is a total hop count of routers passed through by the data packet from the source end to the destination end or a latency of the data packet from the source end to the destination end.