Branching annihilating random walk is an interacting particle system on \({\mathbb{Z}}\). As time evolves, particles execute random walks and branch, and disappear when they meet other particles. It is shown that starting from a finite number of particles, the system will survive with positive probability if the random walk rate is low enough relative to the branching rate, but will die out with probability one if the random walk rate is high. Since the branching annihilating random walk is non- attractive, standard techniques usually employed for interacting particle systems are not applicable. Instead, a modification of a contour argument by L. Gray and D. Griffeath [Ann. Probab. 10, 67-85 (1982; Zbl 0483.60090)] is used.