Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and an apparatus for discovering a closely related user. The method includes: acquiring first data of a first user on social media and second data of a second user on the social media, where the second user is a user following the first user and/or a user followed by the first user; then, establishing a user model of the first user according to the first data and the second data; then, acquiring third data of a third user in social media, where the third user and the first user do not follow each other; afterward, performing matching between the third data and the user model to perform calculation, to obtain a matching result; and finally, if the matching result is greater than a preset value, determining that the third user is a closely related user of the first user.