The invention provides a separation device for coal and waste rocks. The separation device comprises a vibrating coal feeder, a conveying belt, a queuing device, an image sensor, an image collector, a microprocessor, an upper computer, a separation controller, a high-pressure spray gun, a coal briquette channel and a waste rock channel. Information of the image sensor is processed in real time through the microprocessor and then sent to the upper computer, image information preprocessing, feature extraction, soft measurement model establishing and separation signal outputting are carried out, separation signals are sent to the separation controller, raw coal naturally falls into the coal briquette channel, and the waste rocks fall into the waste rock channel through the high-pressure spray gun. The invention further provides a separation method. The separation device and the separation method have the advantages that the defects of a low recognition rate, heavy environmental pollution and the like existing in an existing coal and waste rock separation method are effectively overcome, the recognition rate of the separation method is high, the environmental pollution can be effectively lightened, the separation device is small in size, easy to install and maintain and low in cost, separation precision and the automation degree of the raw coal are greatly improved, and manual waste rock picking is replaced.