Small data transmission method and equipment

The embodiment of the invention discloses a small data transmission method and equipment. The method comprises the following steps: access network equipment receives a paging message carrying small data from core network equipment; and the access network equipment sends the small data to corresponding UE (user equipment) through an RRC (radio resource control) message. In the embodiment of the invention, the downlink small data is transmitted to the UE in an idle state through RRC signaling, the signaling process of small data transmission is optimized, and the service request process initiated due to the small data transmission is avoided, thereby effectively reducing the signaling overhead in an MTC (machine type communication) scene, reducing the resource consumption of the core network equipment and UE and reducing the possibility of congestion of the core network equipment.