A plating apparatus and an operation method thereof are provided. The plating apparatus includes: a tank body including at least one side wall, the at least one side wall being provided with an opening extending from the inside to the outside of the tank body, and the tank body being configured to accommodate a plating solution; and a fixing device configured to fix the substrate at the opening of the side wall. The operation method of the plating apparatus includes: placing the substrate on an outer side of the side wall and at the position of the opening, and operating the fixing device to fix the substrate; and performing plating treatment on the substrate.