An apparatus and method for UpLink (UL) radio resource allocation in a wideband wireless communication system are provided. In a method of operating a Relay Station (RS) for UpLink (UL) radio resource allocation in a wideband wireless communication system, the method includes relaying to a Base Station (BS) a resource request message of at least one or more Mobile Stations (MSs); receiving data from the at least one or more mobile stations; if the received data is non-real time traffic, queuing the data received from the mobile stations according to a traffic type; and requesting the base station to allocate necessary radio resources by checking a queue status. Accordingly, a delay can be reduced when the UL resource is allocated to an relay station for real time traffic.