The invention relates to a preparation method of a visible light catalyst with a surface plasmon effect and application thereof. The active component of the visible light catalyst is a precious metal Au, and the carrier is one of TiO2, CeO2, Nb2O5, SiO2, Ta2O5, Al2O3 and ZrO2, wherein, Au accounts for 0.2-5% in mass content, and the particle size of Au particle is 2-20nm. Preparation of the catalyst consists of two steps: the first step is to prepare a carrier; the second step is to prepare an Au/TiO2 (CeO2, SiO2, Al2O3, Nb2O5, Ta2O5, ZrO2) visible light catalyst with a plasmon effect througha sol precipitation method. Au nanoparticles prepared by the method of the invention have good dispersibility, easily controllable size, high active component utilization rate, as well as the effect of high efficiency photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants by visible light.