The invention discloses a preparation method of a hollow carbonate precursor. The method comprises the following steps: 1) mixing a metal salt solution and a surfactant to obtain a solution A, whereinmetal elements in the metal salt solution include nickel and manganese; 2) adding a precipitating agent into the solution A, and performing a hydrothermal reaction at 150-240 DEG C, wherein the precipitating agent is one or a combination of urea and hexamethylenetetramine; and 3) after the hydrothermal reaction is completed, performing filtration, washing the obtained solid precipitate, performing filtration, and performing drying to obtain the hollow carbonate precursor. According to the method, the hollow carbonate precursor can be directly obtained through the hydrothermal process, the prepared precursor has a uniform particle size, and a material synthesized by using the precursor has better consistency; and in addition, the hollow carbonate precursor prepared by the preparation method can be further mixed with lithium to prepare a lithium battery cathode material, and the prepared lithium battery cathode material has the advantages of excellent cycle stability and rate performance.