A destination node device starts a timer when the destination node device determines that a network topology changes; before the timer expires, the destination node device forwards the BIER packet by using an old forwarding table and establishes a new forwarding table, where the old forwarding table is a forwarding table used by the destination node device before the network topology changes, the new forwarding table is a forwarding table established by the destination node device based on the changed network topology; and after the timer expires, the destination node device switches the old forwarding table to the new forwarding table, and forwards the BIER packet according to the new forwarding table.