The invention discloses a heavy metal adsorbent and a preparation method and application thereof. The heavy metal adsorbent is biological charcoal obtained by air-drying and pyrolyzing cruciferous plants in a grinding mode, wherein the cruciferous plants comprise leaf mustards, radishes, oilseed rape, Chinese cabbages, cabbages, shepherd's purse, wild cabbages and the like. Through tests, it is found that the cruciferous plants contain more sulfhydryl compounds, and the biological charcoal with a sulfydryl group can be obtained after the sulfhydryl compounds are pyrolyzed, can generate adsorbing and chelating effects with heavy metal ions and has the high affinity with positive ions of heavy metals such as Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni and Zn; the waste cruciferous plant bodies such as the Chinese cabbages and the leaf mustards are collected to be air-dried and pyrolyzed to prepare the biological charcoal, therefore, the discharge amount of garbage can be decreased, reutilization of waste resources is achieved, the high heavy metal adsorption capacity is achieved, and wide application prospects in heavy metal-containing water body treatment, heavy metal-contaminated soil remediation and permeable reactive barrier packing are achieved.