The invention discloses a preparation method of a ZSM-48 molecular sieve. The preparation method comprises dissolving an organic base, an aluminum source and a structure-directing agent (R) shown in the formula (I) in water, mixing uniformly the materials, wherein in the formula (I), n represents 4 to 7, adding a silicon source into the mixed solution, carrying out uniform mixing, wherein in the reactants, a molar ratio of SiO2/Al2O3 is 10 to 50, a molar ratio of BA/SiO2 is 0.1 to 2.0, a molar ratio of H2O/SiO2 is 5 to 50, a molar ratio of R/SiO2 is 0.05 to 0.5, a molar ratio of M2O/SiO2 is 0.05 to 0.3, M2O represents an alkali metal oxide and BA represents an organic base, carrying out hydrothermal crystallization on the reactants at a temperature of 80-140 DEG C for 1-5 days, heating the product to a temperature of 150-250 DEG C, carrying out hydrothermal crystallization for 5-14 days, collecting a solid product and drying the product. The molecular sieve contains nanoscale rod-like grains and has good catalytic performances.