A wireless communication system includes a first node, multiple second nodes, and multiple third nodes that communicate with the first node through the second nodes. The second and third nodes transmit control information to their neighboring third nodes, which calculate link costs from the reception status of the control information. The control information transmitted by each node includes a path cost indicating the cost of a path between the transmitting node and the first node. From the path costs in received control information, each third node selects a second node through which to communicate with the first node, and selects a parent node as the destination of the first hop on the path through the selected second node to the first node. Routing is thereby accomplished autonomously without having the second nodes flood the system with routing requests.