Provided are a method and apparatus for occupying an unlicensed carrier to send a discovery signal, and an access point. The method includes the following steps. A parameter of a discovery signal sent on an unlicensed carrier by an access point is configured. The access point sends the discovery signal on the unlicensed carrier. The technical solution of the present disclosure can reduce the time for processing items other than data sending (such as synchronization) after each time the access point preempts a resource, and can improve the spectral efficiency of the unlicensed carrier.