Embodiments of the present invention provide a cell reselection method and a mobile terminal. In the embodiments of the present invention, whether a cell where signal measurement needs to be performed exists is determined according to a neighboring cell list and a reselection prohibited list; if a cell where signal measurement needs to be performed exists, signal measurement is performed on the cell where signal measurement needs to be performed and a current serving cell to obtain a measurement result; and if the measurement result satisfies a trigger condition of cell reselection, cell reselection is triggered. Therefore, when cell reselection needs to be performed, signal measurement is no longer performed on a cell in the reselection prohibited list and unnecessary signal measurement and cell reselection are avoided, thereby decreasing power consumption of a mobile terminal and prolonging standby time of the mobile terminal.