A method for switching system state and a portable terminal. The method is applied to a portable terminal comprising a first system and a second system. The second system has a second control module provided therein. The method comprises: obtaining, by the second system, state information of the first system through the second control module when at least one of the first system and the second system is in an inactive state; receiving, by the second control module, a system state switching event; switching, by the second control module, the second system to a state corresponding to the state information of the first system based on the state information of the first system. According to the embodiments of the present invention, when the system state is to be switched, it is not necessary that both systems are in the active state. Rather, the state information can be transmitted between the systems in the inactive state by using a control module provided in one or both of the systems, and the power consumption of the portable terminal can be reduced.