The invention discloses a channel access method and a node. The method comprises the following steps of: randomly selecting a backoff period XB according to a backoff exponent (BE), wherein the XB is equal to X*a UnitBackoffPeriod, and the X is a randomly selected integer in a range of 0 to (2BE-1); when the X is more than or equal to a preset value, determining a middle backoff period which is smaller than the backoff period, performing backoff until the middle backoff period is over, and performing a clear channel assessment (CCA), transmitting data if a channel is clear, continuing the backoff until the backoff period is over if the channel is not clear, performing the CCA again, and executing channel access operation according to a CCA result when the backoff period is over; and otherwise, when the X is less than the preset value, performing the backoff until the backoff period is over, performing the CCA, and executing the channel access operation according to the CCA result. According to the method and the node, when the backoff period is long, the CCA can be performed after performing backoff until the middle backoff period is over, and the data are transmitted when the channel is clear, so that data transmission time delay can be reduced.