The invention discloses a modified magnetic nanoparticle, a preparation method thereof, a non-polar solvent-based magnetic liquid, and a preparation method and an application of the magnetic liquid. The preparation method of the modified magnetic nanoparticle comprises the following steps: preparing a Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticle; carrying out a sol-gel reaction on the Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticle and a silicon source to obtain a silica-coated magnetic nanoparticle, mixing the silica-coated magnetic nanoparticle with ethanol and ammonia water, and uniformly stirring under a 20-75 DEG C water bath condition to obtain a magnetic mixed solution; and adding a modifying solution into the magnetic mixed solution at a certain speed, and carrying out a modification reaction. The modified magnetic nanoparticle is uniform in particle size and morphology distribution and controllable in particle size, has good dispersity in polar solvents and non-polar solvents, can form a photonic crystal structure, has good magnetic properties, optical properties and chemical stability, can be used for preparing photonic crystals, electronic paper and the like, and has a huge application prospect in the fields of electronics, optics, chemical engineering and the like.