The invention relates to an RFID reader wave beam switching type array antenna and belongs to the radio frequency identification technology and antenna technology field. The RFID reader wave beam switching type array antenna comprises four antenna radiation units, an electrical control phase shifter, a power divider and an attenuator, wherein the antenna radiation units employ a microstrip antenna mode to realize miniaturization of reader antennas, a radiation paster is provided with a groove, a dielectric layer is an air layer, a grounding face is a flat bonded copper, a coaxial line feeding mode is utilized, phase control on an output signal can be realized by the electrical control phase shifter through a main chip, so the wave beam switching function is realized; the power divider is a quartering power divider formed by microstrip lines, the power divider is independently designed, the structure is simple, mounting is convenient, debugging is easy, amplitude attenuation for a signal current can be carried out through an attenuator, so the excitation amplitude proportion is satisfied. According to the RFID reader wave beam switching type array antenna, area scanning for labels can be carried out through a reader, the identification area of the reader is expanded, and guidance meaning is exerted on the RFID system.