The disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. A method for operating a terminal for an augmented reality (AR) service in a mobile communication system includes generating terminal anchoring metadata based on environment information obtained from at least one sensor included in the terminal, transmitting the terminal anchoring metadata to a server, receiving, from the server, a 3D model generated based on the terminal anchoring metadata, and rendering a virtual object based on the 3D model and the environment information.