The invention discloses a high-performance silicon-carbon negative electrode material and a preparation method thereof, and relates to the technical field of lithium ion battery negative electrode materials. The preparation method comprises the following steps: adding graphite into an alkali solution, stirring, drying, carrying out high-temperature etching in an inert atmosphere, washing with water, and drying; adding the etched graphite and a catalyst into an ethanol solution, adding tetraethyl orthosilicate, carrying out a stirring reaction, washing, and drying to obtain a sol-gel product; adding a sodium chloride solution into the sol-gel product, stirring, drying, carrying out thermit reaction in an inert atmosphere, carrying out acid pickling, and drying; and dispersing the carbon precursor into a solvent, adding the thermit reaction product, stirring, drying, and carrying out high-temperature carbonization treatment to obtain the product. According to the invention, the etched graphite material is firstly used as a matrix, then a small amount of silicon material is loaded on the matrix by a sol-gel method, and a framework is constructed by carbon coating, so that the obtained material has good lithium ion intercalation and deintercalation capability, high capacity and good rate capability, and the preparation method is simple and low in cost.