The invention relates to a high-toughness cement-based composite material and a preparation method thereof. The high-toughness cement-based composite material comprises cement, fly ash, fine sand, water, a water reducing agent, a thickening agent, PE fibers and steel fibers. The preparation method comprises the following steps: 1, dry mixing and dispersion of PE fibers, 2, dry mixing and dispersion of a cement-based material, 3, addition of a water reducing agent, 4, addition of a thickening agent, 5, addition of steel fibers, 6, preparation of the high-toughness cement-based composite material, 7, a tensile test on the high-toughness cement-based composite material by using a displacement meter clamp, and 8, an axis tensile test on the high-toughness cement-based composite material by using a test fixture. The compressive strength of the high-toughness cement-based composite material ranges from 45 Mpa to 50 Mpa, the ultimate tensile strain reaches 5%, the tensile cracking strength is4Mpa, the ultimate tensile strength is 5Mpa, the number of cracks in the 80-mm tested section of the dumbbell-shaped standard tensile test piece is about 30, and the high-toughness cement-based composite material is a building material with high ductility and high tensile property.