Embodiments of this application disclose a positioning method and an apparatus, to reduce a quantity of transmission points needed to calculate a position of a terminal, thereby reducing positioning calculation complexity. The method for calculating the position includes: receiving, by a terminal, positioning assistance information sent by a positioning entity, where the positioning assistance information includes a cell identity of a cell in which a to-be-measured transmission point is located, an identity of the to-be-measured transmission point, and positioning reference signal configuration information of the to-be-measured transmission point; measuring, by the terminal, the to-be-measured transmission point based on the positioning assistance information, to obtain a measurement result, where the measurement result includes positioning reference signal information of the to-be-measured transmission point; and sending, by the terminal, the measurement result to a positioning entity.