The invention discloses a metal atom-containing nano carbon material as well as a preparation method and application thereof. The metal atom-containing nano carbon material comprises the following components in percentage by weight: 2-10% of an element O, 0.8-8% of an element N and 1-8% of metal elements, wherein the ratio of the amount of the element O determined by a peak within 529.5-530.8eV in an XPS (X-Ray Photoelectron Energy Spectrum) to the total amount of the element O is 0.02:4; the ratio of the amount of the element O determined by a peak within 531.0-532.5eV to the amount of the element O determined by a peak within 532.6-533.5eV is 0.5:2; the ratio of the amount of the element N determined by a peak within 398.5-400.1eV to the total amount of the element N is 0.01:5; the ratio of the amount of the element N determined by a peak within 403.5-406.5eV to the total amount of the element N is 0.5-0.99. The invention further provides a hydrocarbon dehydrogenation reaction method with the metal atom-containing nano carbon material as a catalyst. The metal atom-containing nano carbon material has good catalysis performance in dehydrogenation reaction of hydrocarbon substances, the raw material conversion rate can be remarkably increased, and the product selectivity can be remarkably improved.