Embodiments of the present invention disclose an icon control method and a terminal, to resolve, without affecting an existing operation habit of a user, a problem that a terminal falsely responds when the user drags an icon. The method in the embodiments of the present invention includes: detecting first input of a user; moving a first icon towards a second icon in response to the detected first input; instructing to perform a first operation on the first icon and the second icon when a distance between the first icon and the second icon falls within a first distance range, and that in the first distance range, duration in which the first icon is in a staying state is greater than a first preset time length; and instructing to perform a second operation on the first icon and the second icon when the distance between the first icon and the second icon falls within a second distance range, and that the first icon is in the staying state in the second distance range.
