The present invention relates to the field of communication technologies and discloses a method and an apparatus for auto gain control (AGC) in a radio receiver, which can ensure that a radio frequency device, an analog device, and various nodes in a digital domain are non-saturated and that useful signal power is adjusted to a certain power level. According to the present invention, total signal power on an air interface is subtracted from a preset first target power to obtain an analog auto gain control (AAGC) gain, and then a second target power is subtracted from an interference signal power in a digital baseband to obtain a digital auto gain control (DAGC) gain.