The invention discloses a MIMO radar antenna array sparse arraying method, which is based on almost difference sets and difference bases, and establishes a MIMO radar transmitting/ receiving array rapidly through enumeration shifting process. When all transmitting array elements transmit orthogonal signals simultaneously and receiving array elements receive echo signals simultaneously, a virtual array with even space can be established equivalently by utilizing a phase center approximation principle; number of the transmitting/ receiving array elements is given, the continuous aperture maximization of the equivalent virtual array can be realized according to the MIMO radar antenna array sparse arraying method, thereby improving spatial resolution of a MIMO radar system significantly; and the continuous apertures of the virtual array are given, and the minimization of number of the transmitting/ receiving array elements can be realized according to the MIMO radar antenna array sparse arraying method, thereby reducing hardware cost of the system significantly. The MIMO radar antenna array sparse arraying method has small computational complexity, and is applicable to establishment of MIMO radar sparse linear arrays and planar array.