A method for processing a system message in a wireless communications system, comprising: obtaining, by a user terminal from a network device, indication information of a currently used cell cluster, wherein the currently used cell cluster is a set of cells having a same attribute and the currently used cell cluster has identification information, wherein the indication information is carried in a first system message and the first system message indicates the currently used cell cluster, and determining, by the user terminal, that a value of the indication information is different from a value of indication information previously obtained from the network device and carried in a second system message, and determining that a system message of a cell of the currently used cell cluster has changed; the obtaining, by a user terminal, indication information of a currently used cell cluster comprises: obtaining, by the user terminal, the first system message; and the method further comprising: updating, by the user terminal, currently used information about the currently used cell cluster based on the indication information in the first system message; and/or updating, by the user terminal, the system message of the cell in the currently used cell cluster based on the indication information in the first system message. obtaining, by a user terminal from a network device, indication information of a currently used cell cluster, wherein the currently used cell cluster is a set of cells having a same attribute and the currently used cell cluster has identification information, wherein the indication information is carried in a first system message and the first system message indicates the currently used cell cluster, and determining, by the user terminal, that a value of the indication information is different from a value of indication information previously obtained from the network device and carried in a second system message, and determining that a system message of a cell of the currently used cell cluster has changed; the obtaining, by a user terminal, indication information of a currently used cell cluster comprises: obtaining, by the user terminal, the first system message; and the method further comprising: updating, by the user terminal, currently used information about the currently used cell cluster based on the indication information in the first system message; and/or updating, by the user terminal, the system message of the cell in the currently used cell cluster based on the indication information in the first system message. obtaining, by the user terminal, the first system message; and the method further comprising: updating, by the user terminal, currently used information about the currently used cell cluster based on the indication information in the first system message; and/or updating, by the user terminal, the system message of the cell in the currently used cell cluster based on the indication information in the first system message. updating, by the user terminal, currently used information about the currently used cell cluster based on the indication information in the first system message; and/or updating, by the user terminal, the system message of the cell in the currently used cell cluster based on the indication information in the first system message.