The present invention relates to the field of communications. Provided in embodiments of the present invention are a congestion control method and network element device. The method comprises: receiving a capacity expansion request message carrying a resource parameter representing a size of a resource required by a base station undergoing congestion; transmitting the capacity expansion request message to a network function virtualization organizer (NFVO), the capacity expansion request message being configured to request the NFVO to determine a virtualization infrastructure manager (VIM) capable of providing the resource required by the base station; receiving a resource reservation success message transmitted by the NFVO, the resource reservation success message carrying identifier information of the VIM; and requesting, according to the resource parameter and the identifier information of the VIM, the VIM to allocate the resource required by the base station, and configuring the allocated resource for the base station to control the congestion thereof. The present invention improves a service transmission quality or ensures normal service requests of a user.