The present invention puts forward a method, a system and an apparatus for selecting a data plane tunnel according to the status of User Equipment (UE). The system comprises a Serving Gateway (SGW) and a Local Gateway (LGW), wherein, the SGW is used for determining the status of the UE and whether a connection is used for Local IP Access (LIPA)/Selected IP Traffic Offload (SIPTO), and instructs the LGW; the LGW is used for setting a tunnel identifier status of the LGW according to the instruction of the SGW, and selecting the data plane tunnel according to the tunnel identifier status. The present invention selects an appropriate data plane tunnel by setting a tunnel identifier in an LGW, and proposes a method for controlling the to setting/clearing of the tunnel identifier, therefore the present invention enjoys comprehensive functions and may make up the deficiency of LIPA/SIPTO architecture in the prior art.