The invention discloses an electromagnet-permanent magnet mixed type online active balance head structure for a rotary machine and a control method thereof. The balance head structure consists of two parts, namely drivers and actuators, wherein the drivers comprise coils, iron cores, magnetoresistive adjusting rings and the like; and the actuators comprise weight discs, magnetic discs, permanent magnets, bearings, magnetism isolating rings, base bodies, end covers and the like. When the machine needs dynamic balance, positive and negative pulse voltages are applied to the two ends of the coils in turn, the weight discs are driven to rotate at a certain angle to form unbalance vectors; the unbalance vectors of the two weight discs in the drivers are synthesized into an effective correction vector, so as to offset the unbalance of the rotary machine; when the dynamic balance is not needed, the weight discs and the magnetic discs at the two sides are at the positions with lowest magnetic resistance to realize self locking of the weight discs; and at the moment, the weight discs rotate together with a shaft of the rotary machine. The balance head disclosed by the invention has the characteristics of simple structure, easy assembly, no contact, no friction, fast response, low cost, diversified weight forms, wider balanced capacity range and application in emergent speed-change working conditions. By adoption of the balance head designed by the invention, unbalance of the rotary machine with high-speed rotation can be corrected online in real time, so that the vibration level of the machine is reduced, the operating quality and the operating efficiency of the machine are improved, and the service life of the machine is prolonged.