Disclosed is a discovery method and apparatus for device-to-device (D2D) communication in a cellular mobile communication system. The discovery method performed by the discovery apparatus may include obtaining, from a server managing information associated with terminals providing a service using a D2D communication scheme over a mobile communication network, information associated with a service provided by the terminals, selecting a service of interest based on the information associated with the service, receiving, from a base station, information associated with a discovery radio resource allocated to the terminals providing the service of interest, and discovering the terminals providing the service of interest based on the information associated with the discovery radio resource.