The invention discloses a sericite / nano-zinc oxide composite material and a preparation method thereof. The composite material is characterized in that the surface of sericite powder is coated with nano-zinc oxide. The preparation method comprises the following step: adding calcium hydroxide or calcium oxide into a mixed system of the sericite powder and zinc sulfate solution so as to directly obtain the nano-zinc oxide coated sericite powder composite material. According to the method, the sericite which is taken as a base material is a natural mineral, so that the raw material is easily available, free of pollution and low in cost; the preparation process is simple, safe, reliable and easy to control; the obtained composite material is stable in quality, and has the good dispersibility in an organic solvent and also has the excellent ultraviolet resistance and the excellent antibacterial and deodorant performance. Thus, the composite material can be applied to the field of coatings, cosmetics and the like. The method has a good potential application value in the field of synthesis of the composite material or other related sciences.