Embodiments of the present invention provide a data processing method and apparatus. The method includes: selecting at least two groups of data from a to-be-processed data stream according to a preset first interval in a staggered manner; performing Fourier transform on each of the at least two groups of data to obtain at least two groups of first data; performing frequency domain filtering on the at least two groups of first data by using a prototype filter, to obtain at least two groups of second data; performing inverse Fourier transform on each of the at least two groups of second data to obtain at least two groups of third data; and adding the at least two groups of third data according to a preset second interval in a staggered manner. In the process, data obtained after transform reserves a feature of a single carrier, and has a low peak-to-average ratio.