The invention provides a method or preparing a glufosinate ammonium salt. The method comprises the following steps: 1, taking a proper amount of methylphosphonate, adding the taken methylphosphonate to a sodium cyanide, ammonium chloride and ammonia water mixed solution, and reacting at 5-45DEG C for 2-8h to generate aminonitrile phosphine ester; 2, slowly adding an acid to the aminonitrile phosphine ester, and reacting to obtain a glufosinate ammonium salt mixture; 3, adding R<1>OH to the glufosinate ammonium salt mixture, heating and refluxing the obtained solution, introducing ammonia gas after the above reaction ends, cooling after ammonia gas introduction ends, and filtering and separating out ammonium chloride to obtain an alcohol solution of glufosinate ammonium ester; and 4, carrying out reduced pressure alcohol removal on the obtained alcohol solution of glufosinate ammonium ester, adding an alkali, reacting, carrying out reduced pressure concentration after the reaction ends, carrying out alcohol precipitation, filtering the obtained solution, and drying the obtained precipitate to obtain the glufosinate ammonium salt. Cheap and easily available ammonia gas is used to substitute flammable, explosive and cancerigenic propylene oxide in traditional methods, so the method provided by the invention has the advantage of economy, safe operation and high industrialization prospect.