A channel estimation circuit of the present invention includes: a tentative channel estimation unit for performing channel estimation by making use of a received signal and outputting the result of estimation as a tentative channel estimation signal; a noise/interference power estimation unit for estimating noise and interference power by making use of the received signal and outputting the result of estimation as a noise/interference power estimation signal; a threshold decision unit for establishing a threshold signal by making use of the noise/interference power estimation signal to output the threshold signal; and an effective path detection unit for outputting, as a channel estimation signal, paths of the tentative channel estimation signal that remains after noise paths having powers smaller than the threshold signal have been removed.