Palygorskite was firstly modified by phosphate through the surface hydroxyl groups, then dodecylamine was grafted to phosphate by acid-base reaction to produce the phosphorus and nitrogen-containing PGS@P-N flame retardant. The structure and morphology of PGS@ZB-N were characterized by FTIR, XRD and SEM methods. The flame retartancy and burning behavior of EVA/PGS@P-N/EG (EG = expandable graphite) composites were studied through TGA, LOI (limiting oxygen index), UL-94 (vertical burning test) and CCT (cone calorimeter test) characterizations. It showed that the prepared EVA/PGS@ZB-N/EG composites obtained a LOI value of 36.3% with the addition of 30 wt% of PGS@P-N/EG flame retardant. PGS@ZB-N can improve simultaneously the interfacial interaction and the mechanical properties of EVA.