In order to purify D-3-phenyl lactic acid (PLA) from fermentation broth, the purification process of PLA by ion-exchange method was studied after converting phenylpyruvic acid (PPA) into PLA by using recombinant E. coli pET-28a-ldhY52V. The D315 was selected from six kinds of anion exchange resins for its better static adsorption capacity of PLA. The optimal absorption efficiency was achieved when the sample flow rate was 4 BV/h and the ratio of diameter to height was 1∶7. A two-stepwise elution process was found to separate PLA from PPA effectively. In the first step，100 mmol/L HCl was used as eluent, and in the second step，200 mmol/L NaCl was used as eluent and the flow rate was 5 BV/h. The results of verification experiment showed that yield of PLA reached 66.4% in the first step and the mass ratio of PLA to PPA was increased from 4.2 in the fermentation broth to 10.3. The report provided a reference for further optimizing the PLA purification process using anion exchange method.