The invention relates to a magnetic separation method for treating oil-containing graphite wastewater, and aims to treat oil and suspended substances in the oil-containing graphite wastewater by using a combined process of air flotation and magnetic separation. The magnetic separation method comprises the following steps: A, firstly, adding wastewater into an air flotation tank so as to enable suspended solids such as a part of oil and graphite in the wastewater to emerge from the water level in an air flotation manner, and scraping the suspended solids into a residue tank, wherein an internal circulation type jet flow pressurization dissolved air flotation method is adopted for air flotation, the dissolved air pressure is 0.25-0.4MPa, the reflux ratio is 10-15%, the separation load is 10-13m<3>/m<2>.h, and the retention time is 20-30 minutes; B, feeding air flotation effluent into a magnetic separation device, performing pre-magnetization by using a pre-magnetization treater in the magnetic separation device, feeding the air flotation effluent into an inclined tube sedimentation tank along with sewage, controlling the flowing speed of the inclined tube sedimentation tank to be 20-35mm/s, subsequently enabling flocculating constituents and suspended solids retained in the water to adhere to a magnetic disc by using a magnetic disc separator, controlling the flowing speed of wastewater flowing through a single magnetic disc separator to be 200-400m<3>/h, scraping the sludge into a sludge discharge device by using a sludge scraper plate, and discharging out treated clean water from a water outlet. The magnetic separation method is free of water treatment agent, and is applicable to treatment on sewage which contains oil and graphite and is not liable to naturally precipitate.