The invention discloses a manipulator driven by pneumatic brake cables and having human hand characteristics. The manipulator comprises five mechanical fingers, a palm, a limiting and driving device and a gas loop, and each mechanical finger sequentially an upper knuckle, a middle knuckle, a lower knuckle and a connecting member. A gas path control system comprises a gas source device, a cylinder, a pressure-regulating valve, an electromagnetic reversing valve and a gas pipe. The lower knuckles of the five mechanical fingers are installed in the mechanical palm in the same direction through respective connecting members, thin brake cables traverse the upper knuckles, the middle knuckles, the lower knuckles and the connecting members and are fixed on the upper knuckles, and the other ends of the brake cables traverse limiting parts and is connected with the cylinder to serve as the driving device. In dependence on pneumatic flexibility, a gas driving work process and a corresponding pneumatic loop of the manipulator are developed, and the grasping force of the manipulator is adjustable. The manipulator driven by the pneumatic brake cables and having human hand characteristics highly simulates grasping motions of a human hand, and can be applied to fields of bionic robots, rehabilitation robots, industrial robots and the like.