The invention relates to a preparation method of a metal-carbon composite, and belongs to the technical field of metal material preparation. Carbon particles are embedded in metal powder to conduct pre-oxidation treatment, carbon particles on the surfaces of metal particles are removed, the metal particles are reduced in a reduction atmosphere, and then the metal particles are mixed with other components to be pressed and sintered to obtain the metal-carbon composite. The preparation method successfully solves the problem that surface sintering is not compact during the sintering process of the metal powder with the carbon particles being embedded in. Under the premise that the metal powder is compact in sintering, the mechanical performance and abrasion resistance of the designed and prepared metal composite are greatly improved. The preparation technology is simple and the cost is low.