This paper demonstrates, by theoretical means, that measured acoustic scattering data can be inverted to yield estimates of the ocean‐surface directional‐frequency spectrum. The inverse scattering technique developed is based on least‐squares inversion through the generalized inverse for underdetermined linear systems of equations. The procedure is based on a recently developed acoustic scattering model which is capable of samplingallfrequenciesanddirectionsof the gravity‐wave field in alocalizedarea of ocean surface. The technique is numerically tested on simulated data samples, constructed with the scattering model using pseudorandom numbers, for a Gaussian ocean surface. The estimation procedure is independent of the assumed form of the simulated directional‐frequency spectrum, and the results obtained show that estimation agrees with that spectrum.