Techniques for handling inconsistent control information in a wireless communication system are described. In an aspect, inconsistent control information is handled in different manners for the downlink and uplink. In one design, a user equipment (UE) receives a first grant with first control information for a first data transmission and also receives a second grant with second control information for a second data transmission. The UE determines that the second control information is inconsistent with the first control information, e.g., due to the two grants conveying different transport block sizes. The UE determines whether to retain or discard the second grant based on whether the two grants are for data transmissions on the downlink or uplink. In one design, the UE retains the second grant if the two grants are for data transmissions on the downlink and discards the second grant if the two grants are for data transmissions on the uplink.