A method and apparatus for signaling the release of a persistent resource in long term evolution (LTE) are disclosed. An indication of the release of a downlink (DL) persistent resource is received by a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) from an evolved Node-B (eNB) via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). A positive acknowledgement (ACK) is transmitted by the WTRU which denotes that the indication has been received. The PDCCH or a medium access control (MAC) CE may be used by the eNB to signal the indication. At least one bit may be added to contents of the PDCCH to signal whether the PDCCH is for DL persistent or dynamic resource allocation. The DL persistent resource is then released and an indication that the DL persistent resource has been released is transmitted.