The present invention relates to coal additive and method for raising coke output and performance. The coal additive contains surface activating catalyst, co-solvent, permeation assistant and solvent. When the coal additive is used, the surface activating catalyst is dissolved in the solvent, added into coal through a specific mode, and distributed on the surface of coal and inside coal under the action of the permeation assistant. During producing coke, the coal additive is heated and the volatile component is separated out, to raise the output and performance of the produced coke. The high performance coke may be used in coal burning, dry distilling, gasifying, liquefying and other fields. The present invention can reach the aims of raising the utilization rate of coal, saving coal resource, reducing pollutant, etc.