This invention relates to a method for synthesizing amphiphilic chitosan. The method comprises: dissolving chitosan, reacting, precipitating, cooling, washing, vacuum-filtering, vacuum-drying, alkalizing, carboxymethylating, desalting, dehydrating and drying to obtain amphiphilic chitosan. The method introduces electrically negative carboxymethyl group and electrically positive quaternary ammonium group onto the molecular chain of chitosan, thus the molecular chain of chitosan contains substituents with two different charge types. After modification, the quaternization degree and the carboxymethylation degree of chitosan are 80% and 70%, respectively. Amphiphilic chitosan has higher apparent viscosity, higher solubility, lower pH value, better pH stability, and wider applications than chitosan.