Embodiments of the present invention provide a status information indication method and system, and a terminal, relating to the technical field of computer data communication. When the terminal enters a lock mode or a sleep mode, the method comprises the steps of acquiring messages, wherein the messages comprise a system notification message and a terminal hardware message; establishing a message queue, and storing the acquired messages in the message queue; and reading the message from the message queue, and controlling the color and brightness of a terminal indicator lamp according to the type and content of the message. A system message acquisition module is used for acquiring the system notification information and the terminal hardware message. A message storage module is used for storing the acquired messages in the message queue. An indication control module is used for controlling the color and brightness of the terminal indicator lamp according to the type and content of the message. According to the status information indication method and system and the terminal, in the sleep mode and the lock mode of the terminal, multiple message indication methods are provided.