This paper proposes a new algorithm to estimate the optimal steady-state Kalman filter gain of a linear, discrete-time, time-invariant stochastic system from nonoptimal Kalman filter residuals. The system matrices are known, but the covariances of the white process and measurement noises are unknown. The algorithm first derives a moving average (MA) model which relates the optimal and nonoptimal residuals. The MA model is then approximated by inverting a long autoregressive (AR) model. From the MA parameters the Kalman filter gain is calculated. The estimated gain in general is suboptimal due to the approximations involved in the method and a finite number of data. However, the numerical example shows that the estimated gain could be near optimal.