A communication method and apparatus are provided, to improve cross-cell beam indication performance. The method is includes: A network device generates first information and sends the first information to a terminal device, where the first information indicates to activate a first transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state of a candidate target cell; and the terminal device receives the first information, activates the first TCI state of the candidate target cell based on the first information. The terminal device can activate the first TCI state of the candidate target cell based on an indication of the network device.