The invention discloses a gas-sensitive material for detecting NO2 and a method for manufacturing a gas-sensitive element made of the gas-sensitive material. The gas-sensitive material is prepared into a SnO2 nano-fiber with a rough surface and a hollow tubular structure by adopting an electrospinning method and high-temperature processing, the hollow SnO2 nano-fiber is of a rutile structure, the SnO2 nano-fiber diameter is about 250-300nm, and the thickness of a particle layer is about 40nm. Au particle modification is performed on the surface of SnO2 in an in-situ reduction manner without changing the crystal structure of SnO2. The specific surface area of the material is increased by the one-dimensional hollow nano-structure characteristic of the gas-sensitive material, the gas-sensitive performance of SnO2 is obviously improved by precious metal modification, and higher sensitivity to NO2 and a larger measurement range are presented. The obtained material is applied to the surface of a ceramic tube, annealing is performed, and a calcined ceramic tube core and a nickel-chromium heating wire are welded to a base, accordingly, the gas-sensitive element is manufactured.