High-nickel cathode material LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 has a higher electrochemical capacity and has begun to be applied in electric vehicle power batteries. The recycling and utilization of its scrap has received extensive attention. This paper adopted methods such as TG-DSC, XRD, XPS, SEM-EDS, thermodynamic analysis and ICP-OES to systematically study the chemical changes and metal recovery of the spent high-nickel cathode material LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 during sulfation roasting. The results showed that under high temperature, NaHSO4·H2O underwent thermal decomposition to produce gas SO3 and H2O, which changed the gas phase composition of the roasting process. The presence of SO3 and H2O in the gas phase was conducive to the chemical transformation of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 and promoted the corresponding reactions of Li, Ni, Co, and Mn elements to form hydroxides, oxides and sulfates with metal sulfates being the thermodynamically most stable products. The amount of NaHSO4·H2O used had a significant effect on the composition of the roasting products. As the amount of NaHSO4·H2O used increased, the amount of LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 in the roasting products decreased until it disappeared. When the mixing ratio reached 1∶1.97, the phase composition was LiNaSO4, Ni6MnO8, MnCo2O4, NiO, Na2Ni(SO4)2, Na2Mn(SO4)2 and Na2Co(SO4)2. Under the conditions of a mixing ratio of 1∶1.97, roasting at 600℃ for 0.5h, water leaching at 60℃ for 0.5h and a liquid-to-solid ratio of 25∶1(mL/g), the leaching rates of Li, Ni, Co and Mn reached 97.13%, 16.72%, 6.3% and 19.38%, respectively, and most of the Li in LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 in the waste high-nickel cathode material was transferred to the water leaching solution. Roasting spent LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 and water leaching the roasting products to achieve the recovery of valuable metals was feasible.