Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the communications field, and provide a signal transmission method and apparatus, which can effectively resolve a resource waste problem of user data resource elements and improve system power utilization. The method includes: determining, by a base station, a first parameter value of a user data resource element (RE), an initial parameter value of a demodulation reference signal resource element (DMRS RE), and a compensation parameter value of the DMRS RE; determining, by the base station according to the initial parameter value and the compensation parameter value, a second parameter value required for transmitting a DMRS; and transmitting, by the base station, the DMRS, the user data, and the compensation parameter value to user equipment, so that the user equipment demodulates the user data.