A tapping control method and a terminal, which relate to the communications field and can avoid frequent automatic setting of the terminal caused by an unconscious operation of a user, thereby implementing accurate operation control on the terminal and improving a capability of the terminal to interact with the user. A specific solution is as follows. The terminal detects a tapping trigger signal within a preset frequency range by using a shock sensor; after the tapping trigger signal is detected, identifies a tapping action type corresponding to the tapping trigger signal; acquires a tapping response event that matches the identified tapping action type; and executes the tapping response event. The present disclosure can be used in a process of operation control on the terminal.