The invention discloses an acryiic acid copolymer/montmorillonite nanocomposite thickener, a preparation method and application. The thickener is prepared from, by weight, 33-67 parts of acrylic acid, 33-67 parts of acrylamide, 8.8-17.8 parts of sodium hydroxide, 3-4 parts of sodium base montmorillonite clay(Na-MMT), 46-60 parts of deionized water, 3 parts of 0.5% ammonium persulfate solution, 1-3 parts of 0.5% anhydrous sodium sulfite solution. The preparation method comprises the steps that 1, raw materials are prepared; 2, instantaneous polymerization is performed; 3, a post treatment is performed. The thickener is a white particle, and is readily soluble in water, 2% of aqueous solution is translucent, the pH is 6-6.5, and the viscosity is 8.1-9.8 s (textile 3 # cup), the viscosity stability is 100%(under the conditions of 1%, 95 DEG C and 2 hours ). The thickener can be used for warp sizing, meets the slurry viscosity requirement of polyester sizing agent for the sizing of staple fibre yarn, and is good in the bubbleless property of the slurry.