A method for managing an area of a terminal in a wireless communication system and an apparatus therefor are disclosed. Specifically, a method for performing, by a terminal, location area update in a wireless communication system may comprise the steps of: transmitting, to a network node, a first request message including an additional cell list comprising one or more neighboring cells of a serving cell of the terminal; receiving, from the network node, a first accept message including information indicating acceptance of the use of the additional cell list; and, when a changed serving cell of the terminal belongs to a tracking area configured to the terminal and does not belong to the additional cell list, performing a cell-based area update procedure.