Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a communication method and apparatus, including: obtaining to-be-encoded first information, where the first information includes a first information bit set and a second information bit set, bits included in the first information bit set are able to be obtained through correct decoding by a plurality of terminal devices, and bits included in the second information bit set are able to be obtained through correct decoding by some of the plurality of terminal devices; performing first polar encoding on the first information bit set to obtain first encoded information; performing second polar encoding on the second information bit set based on the first encoded information to obtain second encoded information; and outputting the second encoded information. Resources can be saved by implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure.