A hierarchical wireless access system includes terminals, access points, centralized access gateways and a plurality of master access point management units located at the access layer and adopting distributed architecture. The master access point management unit includes a communication interface interacting with the centralized access gateway and/or core networks, to which one or more access points are attached. The master access point management unit processes forwards the data and signaling among the attached access points, and provides the function of access gateway and local operation maintenance and network management. Construction of the master access point management unit and the access point in the system is also provided.