An active audio matrix decoding method and apparatus to generate multi-channel audio signals from a stereo channel audio signal. The method includes extracting characteristics of a plurality of speaker signals and angles of each of a plurality of multi-channel speakers from arbitrary signals reproduced by the multi-channel speakers, decoding a stereo signal into a plurality of multi-channel signals and correcting the decoded multi-channel signals based on the extracted characteristics of each of the plurality of speaker signals, extracting a power vector of each of the decoded multi-channel signals by multiplying a magnitude of each of the decoded multi-channel signals by an angle of each multi-channel speaker and extracting a vector of a virtual sound source existing between a plurality of channels based on the power vector of each of the decoded multi-channel signals, extracting a vector value of a dominant sound image by linearly combining the extracted vectors of the virtual sound sources and normalizing a position of each multi-channel speaker with respect to the vector value of the dominant sound image to obtain a normalized position value, and distributing a gain value to the position of each multi-channel speaker by comparing a magnitude of a combined decoded multi-channel signal with the magnitude of each of the decoded multi-channel signals.