The invention relates to the technical field of machining of large rib plates of crane main beams, in particular to a rib plate positioning and clamping tool for robot welding and a positioning method. The rib plate positioning and clamping tool comprises a bottom plate, a position changing machine installed on the bottom plate, a frame installed at the output end of the position changing machine, a displacement platform and a splicing assembly formed by correspondingly splicing a first workpiece, a second workpiece, a third workpiece and a fourth workpiece, wherein the third workpiece and the fourth workpiece are arranged between the first workpiece and the second workpiece at intervals. According to the rib plate positioning and clamping tool for robot welding and the positioning method, after a workpiece needing to be positioned and clamped is placed on the tool, splicing and clamping can be automatically achieved, the workpiece is pressed to be prevented from falling off from the tool, after clamping, a welding robot can conveniently weld a splicing assembly, the welding efficiency is improved, and meanwhile, the splicing assembly can be driven to rotate, and therefore the welding robot can weld the two faces of the rib plate conveniently.