The present invention discloses a method for buffering a cell by a crossbar switching matrix, which includes: sending a jitter timestamp to a switching port connected to the crossbar switching matrix through a link, and receiving a cell that is sent by the switching port and carries the jitter timestamp, in which the jitter timestamp indicates a jitter of the link itself; and using a sum of the jitter timestamp carried in the cell and a relative delay timestamp of the corresponding link as a total timestamp, and storing the cell in a buffering unit corresponding to the total timestamp in a cell buffer of the link, in which the relative delay timestamp indicates a difference of a delay of the link relative to a delay of a lowest link.