This application provides a method and apparatus for obtaining a resource indication value. The method includes: a network device determines a bit quantity of a resource indication value based on a first bandwidth part, sends downlink control information, which includes the resource indication value and indicates a data channel in a second bandwidth part, and sends or receives the data channel occupying a plurality of contiguous virtual resource blocks, wherein a number RBstart identifying the starting virtual resource block of the contiguous virtual resource blocks, a quantity LRBs of the contiguous virtual resource blocks, and the resource indication value RIV satisfy following relation: RBstart=└K·RB′start┘, and LRBs=└K·L′RBs┘, wherein K is a positive number and satisfies K≤└NRBBWP2/NRBBWP1┘, and NRBBWP2 refers to a bandwidth of the second bandwidth part; and RIV=NRBBWP1(L′RBs−1)+RB′start when (L′RBs−1)≤└NRBBWP1/2┘, or RIV=NRBBWP1(NRBBWP1−L′RBs+1)+(NRBBWP1−1−RB′start) when (L′RBs−1)>└NRBBWP1/2┘, wherein NRBBWP1 refers to a bandwidth of the first bandwidth part.