Techniques for supporting peer-to-peer (P2P) communication are disclosed. In an aspect, P2P communication may be supported with a symmetric waveform for a P2P downlink and a P2P uplink. In one design, a first UE generates a first signal based on a particular waveform (e.g., a downlink waveform or an uplink waveform for a wireless network) and transmits the first signal to a second UE for P2P communication. The first UE also receives a second signal generated by the second UE based on the particular waveform and transmitted to the first UE for P2P communication. In another aspect, a proximity detection signal may be transmitted in a portion of a subframe instead of the entire subframe. The remaining portion of the subframe may be used to transmit control information and/or other information to support P2P communication.