The invention relates to a wave maker based on a hydraulic drive mode. The wave maker comprises a control system, a hydraulic drive system and a wave pushing plate. The hydraulic drive system comprises a variable hydraulic pump, a frequency conversion motor, a hydraulic directional valve, a three-phase hybrid stepping motor, a double-acting shock excitation hydraulic cylinder, an oil tank, a check valve, an electromagnetic overflow valve, a proportional overflow valve, a cooler and a filter, wherein the frequency conversion motor is connected with the variable hydraulic pump; the wave pushing plate is fixedly installed at the output end of a piston rod of the double-acting shock excitation hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic directional valve is a two-stage shock excitation valve formed by assembling a valve element rotary directional valve and a hydraulic-operated directional valve, the hydraulic-operated directional valve is a main stage valve, the valve element rotary directional valve is an auxiliary stage valve and comprises an auxiliary stage valve body, an auxiliary valve sleeve and an auxiliary valve element, and the auxiliary stage valve element is connected with the three-phase hybrid stepping motor. A control system is electrically connected with a displacement adjusting mechanism of the variable hydraulic pump, the three-phase hybrid stepping motor, the frequency conversion motor and the electromagnetic overflow valve. The wave maker can generate simulated water waves with various expected control laws by adjusting the working state of the hydraulic elements.