A wireless local area network authentication method is provided that includes: automatically obtaining, by a mobile terminal, an access account and an access password; and automatically sending, by the mobile terminal, a web authentication request to a network server, where the web authentication request carries the access account and the access password. A corresponding mobile terminal is also provided. By applying the wireless local area network authentication method and the mobile terminal disclosed in the present invention, a mobile terminal can automatically complete web authentication of a wireless local area network, a user does not need to enter an account and a password, and a web authentication interface does not need to be displayed to the user either, thereby avoiding a complex and repetitive authentication operation and improving user experience.