The invention discloses a cleaning machine for waste floating on water surface. A machine frame (15) is fixed on a floating platform (14); the floating platform (14) is arranged among four upright posts (3) and thus is restrained from shifting horizontally and rotating, and the cleaning machine automatically rises and falls to an optimal operating position with water level; a water wheel is driven by water flow to rotate to provide power for the cleaning machine, and when the cleaning machine is positioned in a slow flow or still water area, a drive compensating motor (6) is used as a power source; and a cam (5) on a transmission shaft (2), through a linkage mechanism (19), drives a collecting rake (13) to sway on water level to drive waste to gather in a fishing opening, a meshy shoveling plate 7 fishes the waste onto a meshy conveying plate (10), and the waste is conveyed to a waste bin (4) by a conveying system. The cleaning machine for waste floating on the water surface has the characteristics of high self adaptability, energy conservation, high working efficiency, no need for manual maintenance, wide application range and the like and can be widely used for cleaning floatingwaste on water surface in rivers and lakes.