The invention discloses anatase titanium dioxide nano-rods and a preparation method thereof. According to the invention, titanium alkoxide is adopted as a titanium source, an organic alkali is adopted as a glue solution, ethylene glycol-water or ethylene glycol-water-ethanol is adopted as a solvent; low-temperature glue solution is carried out, and then high-temperature hydrothermal reaction is carried out; and crystal growth is controlled in a manner of oriented bonding, such that the morphology of a final product is controlled in a special nano-rod shape. The oriented bonding direction is a (001) direction, and a crystal exposed surface is a {101} surface. With different reaction conditions, the diameters of the nano-rods are adjustable within a range of 5-60nm, and the lengths of the nano-rods are adjustable within a range of 50-400nm. According to the nano-rod growth process, a plurality of anatase grains are subjected to local bonding fusion according to a certain optimized direction through crystal lattice match sharing common crystal surfaces, such that the nano-rods with certain length-to-diameter ratio, good dispersion, and huge specific surface area is formed. With an electrode material prepared by using the nano-rods, higher electron collection efficiency can be easily obtained, and high photoelectric performance is provided.