Cell residence method and equipment for terminal startup

The embodiment of the invention discloses a cell residence method for terminal startup. The method comprises the following steps that: a terminal acquires a residence frequency point meeting a first frequency point judgment threshold, tries cell residence at the residence frequency point, and continuously acquires at least one alternative frequency point meeting a second frequency point judgment threshold; the terminal judges whether the cell residence at the residence frequency point is successful; and when the judgment result is cell residence failure at the residence frequency point, the terminal tries cell residence at the alternative frequency point. In the embodiment of the invention, the scanning time delay of terminal startup can be effectively shortened so that the terminal can initiate services as quickly as possible and the use experience of a user can be improved.