An apparatus and method for automatic gain control in spread-spectrum communications includes an automatic gain control apparatus for a spread-spectrum receiver, including a received signal strength indicator, an analog amplifier in signal communication with the received signal strength indicator, an analog-to-digital converter in signal communication with the analog amplifier, a digital automatic gain control loop in signal communication with the analog-to-digital converter, and a digital-to-analog converter in signal communication with the digital automatic gain control loop for providing a signal indicative of a digital gain to the analog amplifier; where the corresponding method for automatic gain control in spread-spectrum communications includes receiving an analog signal, measuring the strength of the received analog signal, deriving a first analog gain in correspondence with the measured strength, applying the derived first analog gain to an analog amplifier, deriving a second analog gain from a pilot channel signal within an automatic gain control loop, deriving a digital gain from the pilot channel signal within the automatic gain control loop, and applying an automatic gain control signal indicative of the second analog gain and the digital gain to the analog amplifier.