The invention provides a method for extracting theophylline from tea leaves by using chloromethyl polystyrene resin. The method comprises the following steps: A, extraction of theophylline: preparing a chlorine salt solution, and soaking a tea medicinal material by using the chlorine salt solution for extraction; enrichment of theophylline: performing column chromatography and adsorption on an extracting solution by using chloromethyl polystyrene resin, performing elution after adsorption, collecting an eluent, and then performing reduced pressure concentration to obtain an extract; and C, purification: performing alumina column chromatography on the extract, then performing elution, collecting the eluent, then performing reduced pressure concentration, and performing refrigeration, crystallization, filtration and drying on a concentrated solution to obtain theophylline compounds. According to the method provided by the invention, a large amount of high-quality theophylline compounds can be obtained by virtue of four steps namely acidic chlorine salt solution extraction, macroporous adsorption resin enrichment, alumina column chromatography and crystallization. The four steps are mild in condition, high in adsorption efficiency and short in preparation cycle; and the method is simple in technological process and simple and convenient to operate, has low requirements for the technological level of operators, and is suitable for industrial popularization.