A message reply method includes displaying a first user interface including a message list, receiving a first trigger operation performed by a user on a first message box in the message list, where the first trigger operation is for triggering replying to a first contact corresponding to the first message box, obtaining, based on the first trigger operation, a reply message to the first contact when the first user interface is displayed, and sending the reply message to the first contact such that a user may implement a reply to a contact in a message list without opening a specific chat page.