The invention discloses a lead titanate nanotube with a one-dimensional crystal structure, which has the characteristics as follows: (a) a space group is I4/m; (b) cell parameters show that each PbTiO3 unit cell is composed of forty atoms, wherein, Pb:Ti:O=1:1:3; and (c) x, y, and z space positions of a lead atom, a titanium atom and an oxygen atom in each unit cell are respectively as follows: Pb (0.165, 0.151 and 0.5), Ti (0.471, 0.142 and 0.5), O1 (0.605, 0.028 and 0.5), O2 (0.169, 0.289 and 0.0) and O3 (0.543, 0.260 and 0.5). The lead titanate nanotube prepared by a hydrothermal method has the one-dimensional crystal structure, high purity, good crystallization stability and good dispersibility, and has wide application prospect in the fields such as microelectronic devices, drivers, sensors and the like. The preparation method of the invention has simple equipment, easy control of process conditions, low cost and easy industrialized production.