The invention discloses a preparation method of rubber antioxidant N,N'-di-sec-butyl-1,4-phenylenediamine. The preparation method comprises following steps: step 1, p-phenylenediamine, butanone, and a catalyst are delivered into a high-pressure autoclave, air in the high-pressure autoclave is replaced with nitrogen, and an obtained mixture is heated to 160 DEG C, and is reacted for 10h under 3.3 to 5.6MPa, wherein mass ratio of p-phenylenediamine to butanone is 1:6; and step 2, after reaction, an obtained product is subjected to cooling, filtering, and distilling so as to remove excess butanone and obtained sec-butyl alcohol so as to obtain N,N'-di-sec-butyl-1,4-phenylenediamine. According to the preparation method, catalytic hydrogenation effect is excellent in presence of the catalyst, the preparation method is simple, and product yield is high.