The invention relates to a new method for recovering 2-isopropylphenol residual liquid, comprising the following steps: 1) adding a proper amount of 2-isopropylphenol residual liquid in a tower kettle for decomposition at reduced pressure, simultaneously controlling vacuum above minus 0.09 MP, controlling the temperature of the tower kettle between 175 and 185 DEG C, using circulating water for condensation on the top of the tower, and controlling the water temperature between 10 and 30 DEG C; and 2) detecting the content of the residual liquid in the tower kettle after circulating decomposition at reduced pressure for 18-24 hours, and when the content of 2,6-diisopropyl phenol in the residual liquid is between 50 and 55%, putting the decomposed material in an initial distillation liquid storage tank for later use, thus finishing the recovery of the 2-isopropylphenol residual liquid at the batch. The residual liquid mixture generated in the process of producing the 2-isopropylphenol is utilized for tower type cracking under the conditions such as proper tower kettle temperature, vacuum degree, circulating time and the like, so that the efficiency of cracking the residual liquid into the 2-isopropylphenol is high, and the production cost is greatly reduced, thereby facilitating the improvement of product competitiveness.