The present disclosure discloses a flow table matching method and apparatus and an OpenFlow switching system to implement matching of any field in any data flow without changing existing hardware logic or a standard protocol. The method includes: receiving a jump instruction and a match instruction that are delivered by a controller for a first flow table; creating a first flow entry in the first flow table; receiving a flow mode message delivered by the controller for a second flow table; and creating a second flow entry in the second flow table. The present disclosure lays a foundation for implementing really flexible and programmable software-defined networking, assists a network service operator in reducing capital expenditures and operation expenditures, and enables a traditional IP network to have more flexible network abstraction and management capabilities for a real-time service.