Provided is a character input method and apparatus for automatically switching an input mode in a terminal having a touch screen. If a press event occurs in one of key regions displayed in the touch screen, it is determined whether a drag event occurs prior to occurrence of a release event. According to whether the drag event occurs, one of a separate input mode for inputting one of characters of a corresponding character group and a text input mode for inputting a word including one of the characters of the character group is executed. Thus, a user can easily input a character by rapidly selecting a desired input mode.