The invention discloses a water-quenched nickel activating device and method. The device comprises a steel belt reducing furnace, a first reducing furnace hydrogen inlet, a second reducing furnace hydrogen inlet, a reducing furnace sulfur dioxide inlet, a first reducing furnace exhaust port, a second reducing furnace exhaust port, an electric heating device, a control device, a hydrogen inlet pipe, a sulfur dioxide pipe and a waste gas exhaust pipe. The steel belt reducing furnace comprises a reducing furnace material distribution area, a reducing furnace area I, a reducing furnace area II anda reducing furnace cooling area. Water-quenched nickel passes through the reducing furnace material distribution area, is conveyed into the steel belt reducing furnace and sequentially passes throughthe reducing furnace area I, the reducing furnace area II and the reducing furnace cooling area to be subject to a reaction, finally, the water-quenched nickel gets out of the reducing furnace cooling area, and water-quenched nickel activating is finished. The carbonylation synthesis reaction effect of the water-quenched nickel in the nickel carbonyl synthesis process is uniform, accordingly, theresidual amount of carbonylation nickel slag in the carbonyl process nickel refining process is stable, the metal nickel recycling rate in the carbonyl process nickel refining process is increased, and the refining effect of carbonyl process nickel refining is improved.