An apparatus and a method for improving performance of an equalizer in a wireless communication system are provided. The apparatus of a reception end includes a search unit and an estimator. The search unit determines power values of respective taps inside a window based on a signal received via a pilot channel, and classifies the taps into one or more meaningful taps and one or more noise taps. The estimator allocates one or more 1-tap channel estimators to the one or more meaningful taps, and determines a channel estimation vector based on a channel estimation value of the one or more meaningful taps determined by the one or more 1-tap channel estimators.