The invention belongs to the field of environmental protection and particularly relates to a modified preparation method for a corn straw capable of adsorbing arsenic in water. Middle nodules of the air-dried corn straw are removed, the corn straw is cut into short sticks, the short sticks are washed and dried to reach constant weight, the hard barks on the surfaces are removed, the short sticks are cut into straw particles, the straw particles are soaked in isopropyl alcohol for 8-10 hours, washed with deionized water and dried, then the processed straw particles are soaked in a NaOH solution with the concentration of 0.8-1.2mol/L for 6-8 hours, washed with deionized water and dried, then the processed straw particles are soaked in oxalic acid with the concentration of 0.18-0.22mol/L, washed with deionized water, and dried, so as to finally obtain a modified corn straw adsorbent, wherein the maximum saturated adsorption is up to 94[mu]gAs(III)/g (straw). The materials are easy to get, the cost is low, the toxicity is low, the modified method is simple in operation steps, the conditions are easy to achieve, high temperature or high pressure is not needed, the method is easy to realize, and the arsenic adsorption effect of the modified corn straw is good.