The invention provides a method and a device for retrieving an atmospheric water vapor content. Through acquiring BDS observation data and downloading ephemeris data IGU from an IGMAS, ephemeris datafor retrieving are acquired based on the ephemeris data IGU; based on the above information, coordinate information of an observation station is acquired, total tropospheric zenith delay above the observation station is acquired, and based on the coordinate information of the observation station and a saastamoinen model, zenith dry delay is calculated and acquired, and the zenith dry delay is subtracted from the total tropospheric zenith delay to obtain zenith wet delay; and according to a conversion coefficient, a liquid water density and the zenith wet delay, atmospheric precipitation is calculated. On the premise that the ephemeris data meet the precision requirements of retrieving the atmospheric water vapor content by the BDS, real-time retrieving of the atmospheric water vapor content by BDS observation can be realized, the atmospheric water vapor content measurement precision is improved, and the method and the device are applicable to conditions with a large altitude differencebetween the observation station and a reference station.