The invention discloses a phenylacetic acid production method, which belongs to the technical field of phenylacetic acid production. The phenylacetic acid production method comprises the following steps of raw material preparation, raw material mixing, synthesis reaction, oil-water phase separation, acidification reaction, crystallization, centrifugation, drying, MVR, condensed water purification and toluene rectification. According to the method, sodium cyanide is replaced with carbon monoxide, two highly toxic materials, namely sodium cyanide and benzyl cyanide, in the production process are reduced, the cost is lower, the product quality is better, and the method can be applied to wider fields due to the fact that the method does not contain cyanide; cyclic utilization of the catalyst, cyclic utilization of materials and cyclic utilization of water are achieved, the technology, the concept and the equipment are advanced, the system inclusiveness is extremely high, and discharge of process wastewater is completely eradicated.