The present invention provides a method for preferentially recovering manganese from waste lithium-rich manganese-based cathode material, the method comprising: step 1) calcination and leaching: mixing the waste lithium-rich manganese-based cathode material with ammonium sulfate and then performing low-temperature calcination, leaching the calcination product with water, and then performing solid-solution separation to obtain a leaching solution; step 2) complexing and manganese separating: adding ammonium sulfite to the leaching solution obtained in step 1) for a complex reaction to obtain manganese-rich residue; step 3) oxidation leaching: adding an oxidant to the manganese-rich residue obtained in step 2) to perform oxidation leaching, and adjusting the pH of the solution to obtain a manganese-rich solution; and step 4) extracting and stripping. The method realizes the preferential and productive recovering of manganese from waste lithium-rich manganese-based cathode materials, avoids the negative impact of polymetals in the conventional recovery process, and has economic and environmental benefits.