The invention provides an erbium ion doped ceria-containing nanocrystal up-conversion luminescent glass ceramic and a preparation method and application thereof. The glass ceramic has the general formula of aCeO2-bAl2O3-cSiO2-dNa2O: eEr<3+>, wherein a, b, c, d and e are mole fractions of components, and a+b+c+d+e = 100. The preparation method comprises the following steps: dissolving a certain amount of ethyl orthosilicate in ethanol to obtain a precursor solution A, and dissolving aluminum nitrate, cerium nitrate, sodium nitrate and erbium nitrate in deionized water to obtain a precursor solution B; mixing the precursor solutions A and B, adding a small amount of nitric acid as a catalyst, and stirring at room temperature to prepare a clear sol; pouring the sol into a container to form awet gel, aging at room temperature, and drying to obtain a dry gel; and performing heat treatment to prepare the glass ceramic material. The glass ceramic material has simple process, good transparency, compactness and mechanical strength, and strong up-conversion luminous performance, thus being an ideal up-conversion luminous material.