An embodiment of the present invention discloses a preinstalled application management method for a mobile terminal, where storage space of the mobile terminal includes at least one directory, and an installation package of at least one preinstalled application is stored in the at least one directory. The method includes: starting the mobile terminal; scanning the at least one directory; and installing the installation package of the at least one preinstalled application in the at least one directory to generate a preinstalled application having user-level permission. Besides, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a mobile terminal. By using the method and the mobile terminal, the preinstalled application can be uninstalled.