A surface modified lithium titanate and preparation method thereof is provided. In the surface modified lithium titanate, the deactivating groups distributed on the surface of the lithium titanate are —O—P—RR′R″, —O—P—(OR)R′R″, —O—P—(OR)(OR′)R″, and —O—P—(OR)(OR′)(OR″), where R, R′ and R″ are identical or different C1˜C8 alkyl or alkenyl groups. The deactivating groups are bonded to the lithium titanate via a bond or a bridge. The exemplary surface modified lithium titanate can effectively lower its catalytic activity, reduce the gassing of lithium ion batteries, and therefore improve the high temperature storage and high temperature cycle performance of lithium titanate batteries. The exemplary preparation method is simple, has great repeatability, a low cost, low pollution to the environment, and is suitable for industrial production.