The invention discloses a railway brake beam material XWQ470E and a machining method. The material comprises the following components: 0.12-0.20 of C, 0.25-0.35 of Si, 1.20-1.50 of Mn, P not more than 0.020, S not more than 0.010, 0.20-0.30 of Cr, 0.30-0.55 of Ni, Mo not more than 0.20, 0.08-0.14 of V, 0.015-0.035 of Al, 0.015-0.030 of Nb, and 0.001-0.03 of Ce; in a continuous casting and straightening procedure, the straightening temperature of a continuous-cast blank is controlled within 930-950 DEG C; the normalization temperature is 920+-20 DEG C; the continuous-cast blank is insulated by 40 minutes, and then, is cooled by air; and the tempering temperature is 480+-30 DEG C. The material is prepared through hot cutting, drawing and shaping by brand new component design and production process, and is excellent in manufacturability and stable in quality. In the component design process, such alloy elements as nickel, niobium, vanadium and rare earth are added, so that the overall toughness, the welding performance and the wear resistance of the material are improved, and the excellent application effect is achieved.