A method and apparatus for conserving home agent resources in mobile Internet Protocol (IP) deployment is disclosed. In a wireless communication system supporting mobile IP, a release candidate set is generated and updated during operation of the network. When an inactivity timer associated with a mobile node satisfies a condition, the mobile node is listed in the release candidate set. Successful communication with the mobile node results in removal from the release candidate set. The release candidate set is accessed when a home agent desires to reclaim resources on an overload condition.