A method and an apparatus for configuring a packet forwarding manner. The method includes receiving, by a control node (CN), a connection establishment request packet from a client device, and acquiring a user attribute according to the request packet; according to the user attribute and a forwarding policy, acquiring, by the first CN, a packet forwarding manner corresponding to the client device, where the forwarding policy includes a packet forwarding manner corresponding to the user attribute; and after authentication succeeds, sending, by the first CN, a message carrying the acquired packet forwarding manner to a wireless access point (AP) associated with the client device, so as to instruct the wireless AP to create a forwarding entry of the client device, where the forwarding entry includes the packet forwarding manner. The present invention implements user-based control of a packet forwarding manner, simplifying configuration and maintenance.