The invention provides a compound which has a structure shown as a formula (I). The invention also provides a preparation method of a hydrophobic association hydrogel. The preparation method comprises the following steps of: dissolving acrylamide and the compound with the structure shown as the formula (I) into water to obtain mixed solution; and performing polymerization reaction on the mixed solution in an inert gas environment under the action of a water-soluble initiator to obtain the hydrophobic association hydrogel. Hydrophobic groups included in the hydrophobic association hydrogel provided by the invention form a network structure through physical cross-linking; the hydrophobic association hydrogel has superior mechanical property; the tensile strength is 30-300 Pa and the compressive strength is 5-20 Pa; and the hydrophobic association hydrogel can be quickly restored after being tensioned. Meanwhile, the hydrophobic association hydrogel has good self-healing capacity; the tensile strength of the hydrophobic association hydrogel after self-healing reaches 35-45 percent of the tensile strength when the hydrophobic association hydrogel is not cut off; and the tensile elongation at break can reach 70-83 percent of the tensile elongation at break when the hydrophobic association hydrogel is not cut off.