The invention relates to a cobalt-based oxygen reduction electro-catalytic material and a preparation method thereof, and solves the problems of low catalytic activity, small catalytic active site density, low active site utilization rate, complicated preparation, high cost and the like of the existing non-noble metal ORR catalyst. ZIF-67 is used as a precursor, the coordination environment of a carbon-supported cobalt-based catalyst is accurately regulated and controlled through process parameters of carbonization and vulcanization processes, an electro-catalytic material which is mainly composed of Co-S-C, coexists with Co-N-C and Co-C and has a phase composition of Co1-xS is obtained, and the electro-catalytic activity of a single active site is remarkably enhanced. Moreover, cobalt atoms of the material are uniformly distributed in a carbon skeleton at high density, so that the density of active sites is improved; meanwhile, the material has a larger average pore size on the basis of high specific surface area, and the utilization rate of active sites is improved. The preparation method of the cobalt-based electrocatalyst is easy and convenient to operate, the consistency of synthetic materials is high, and the cobalt-based electrocatalyst has application and popularization value.