The invention provides a light stone-imitating particulate matter and a water-based stone-imitating coating prepared by adopting same, and belongs to the technical field of water-based architectural coatings. The preparation method comprises the following steps: smashing or cutting waste or a leftover material of rubber, resin and engineering plastics or reclaimed rubber into particles, coating a colored film on the surface to prepare the light stone-imitating particulate matter. The water-based stone-imitating coating prepared by adopting the stone-imitating particulate matter comprises the following ingredients in percentage by weight: 8-30% of emulsion, 30-80% of a light stone-imitating particulate matter, 1-40% of an inorganic pigment filler, 1-8% of a wetting dispersant, 0.5-8% of a thickening agent, 0.1-5% of an antifoaming agent, 0.5-5% of a film coalescing aid, 0.1-1% of a mildew inhibitor, 1-10% of an anti-freezing agent, and proper amount of water, wherein the pH value is regulated to be 8-9.5 with a pH regulator. The imitated stone is life-like, and presents strong artistic feeling. As the specific weight of the light stone-imitating particulate matter is low, the flexibility is good, and the abrasiveness to a mixing plant is low; a lot of thickening agents or anti-setting agents are not required to be added, and the prepared stone-imitating coating has high stability, long storage life, and convenience in construction. Moreover, the technology avoids black pollution such as waste tires, and is beneficial to environment protection.