Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for routing and forwarding. The method includes: receiving, by a network controller, a routing request message sent by a requesting routing node, where the routing request message carries a content name of requested content; determining, by the network controller according to a network topology diagram and registration information of the requested content, a proper forwarding path; and delivering, by the network controller, routing information to each routing node on the forwarding path. In the embodiments of the present invention, a network controller is introduced, and registration information and a network topology diagram are stored in the network controller, so that the network controller may be used to determine a forwarding path of a content request packet, which reduces blindness of routing and forwarding of the content request packet in an ICN network and improves efficiency of routing and forwarding.