Cell search method and terminal device

A cell search method, comprising:

• searching, by a terminal device, a cell to reside, wherein the terminal device is in an inactive state, wherein the inactive state refers to that the terminal device is disconnected from a network device, and both the network device and the terminal device retain context information of the terminal device, wherein the context information is used for establishing a connection between the terminal device and the network device;
• entering, by the terminal device, an arbitrary cell search state to search for an acceptable cell and/or a suitable cell when the terminal device does not find any suitable cell to reside in, wherein the acceptable cell is a cell in which the terminal device is capable of residing and only obtaining a restricted service, and the suitable cell is a cell in which the terminal device is capable of residing and obtaining a normal service;
• and
• continuing to maintain, by the terminal device, the inactive state and a second timer when entering the arbitrary cell search state, wherein the second timer comprises a location update timer.