The invention relates to a rapid salt-bath nitridation method by applying a magnetic field. The method comprises the following steps: washing, pre-oxidizing, melting nitridation basic salts, applying a magnetic field to carry out nitridation, and washing. The method has the advantages that under the effect of a magnetic field, domain rotation and domain wall displacement are generated around the material surface, the exchange energy and anisotropy energy are increased, and the nitrogen atom diffusion is accelerated; magnetization happens near the surface of workpiece, magneto-striction is generated then, the strain energy is increased, and the diffusion of nitrogen atom is accelerated; active nitrogen atoms diffuse on the material surface under the effect of the magnetic field, the surface adsorption and diffusion are accelerated, the penetration is promoted and accelerated, the salt-bath nitrogen penetration time is reduced, the energy is saved, and the environment is protected; the hardness and surface wear-resistant performance of a sample is improved, the excellent surface corrosion resistant performance of the sample can be preserved; in the provided method, people can obtain a nitrogen penetration layer with the same thickness as that of a nitrogen penetration layer, which is produced by a common salt-bath nitrogen penetration method, by low-temperature heating, thus the energy is saved, and the production cost is reduced.