The invention provides a metal-based composite material and a preparation method and application thereof. According to the metal-based composite material disclosed by the invention, the reinforcement particles are distributed in the metal matrix in a gradient manner, so that the metal-based composite material has excellent comprehensive performance, including relatively high heat conductivity coefficient, adjustable thermal expansion coefficient, relatively high hardness, relatively low density and good and long-term stable performance, and is an ideal heat dissipation packaging material. According to the metal-based composite material, in the metal-based composite material, the reinforcement particles are distributed in the metal matrix in a gradient mode, the gradient material can relieve the internal thermal stress of the material under the cyclic change of the high-temperature and low-temperature environment, and the failure of electronic components due to the thermal problem can be solved. For example, a silicon carbide aluminum-based composite material (SiCp/Al) with a high volume fraction ratio has excellent comprehensive performance, including relatively high heat conductivity coefficient, adjustable thermal expansion coefficient, relatively high hardness and relatively low density, and is an ideal material in the field of electronic packaging.