This application provides a communication method, a terminal device, and a network device. The method performed by a terminal device includes: determining N resource areas, where N is a positive integer; detecting, downlink scheduling information in M resource areas, where the downlink scheduling information includes resource indication information of P resource areas; and determining based on the resource indication information of the P resource areas, a resource for transmitting downlink data, where the M resource areas are M of the N resource areas, the P resource areas are P of the N resource areas, M is a positive integer less than or equal to N, and P is a positive integer less than or equal to N.