This application provides a data communication method, a terminal, and a base station. In one embodiment, the terminal receives a first demodulation reference signal based on a first physical resource block index. The first physical resource block index is determined based on a first location in frequency domain, and the first demodulation reference signal is used to demodulate a data channel on which system information is located. The terminal sends and/or receives a second demodulation reference signal based on a second physical resource block index. The second physical resource block index is determined based on a second location in frequency domain, and the second demodulation reference signal is used to demodulate a data channel other than the data channel on which the system information is located.