Embodiments of the present invention provide a speech recognition method and a terminal. The method includes: listening, by a speech wakeup apparatus, to speech information in a surrounding environment; when determining that the speech information obtained by listening matches a speech wakeup model, buffering, by the speech wakeup apparatus, speech information, of first preset duration, obtained by listening, and sending a trigger signal for triggering enabling of a speech recognition apparatus, where the trigger signal is used to instruct the speech recognition apparatus to read and recognize the speech information buffered by the speech wakeup apparatus; and recognizing first speech information buffered by the speech wakeup apparatus and the second speech information obtained by listening, to obtain a recognition result.