The invention discloses a water-based ultra-thin fire-retardant coating for steel structures. The fire-retardant coating comprises components as follows: a binder emulsion, an intumescent flame retardant system, filler, deionized water and additives, wherein the additives comprise a dispersing agent, an antifoaming agent, a mold inhibitor, an anti-flash-rust agent, a coalescing agent, a leveling agent and a thickener; the intumescent flame retardant system comprises a dehydration catalyst, a carbonizing agent and a foaming agent. The invention further designs a preparation method of the water-based ultra-thin fire-retardant coating for the steel structures. The components are mixed sequentially to be prepared into the water-based ultra-thin fire-retardant coating for the steel structures in a vertical sand mill and a dispersing tank. The prepared coating is large in adhesive force, high in hardness, good in fireproof property, good in anti-scratch performance and excellent in weather resistance and water resistance, the surface layer of the coating is fine and smooth, the decoration performance is improved significantly, and the preparation method is low in energy consumption and has the advantages that the harm to human bodies and the pollution to the environment during preparation are small and the like.