In order to examine the effects of cyclic loading and unloading paths on the energy evolution of hexagonal honeycomb, three different graded cyclic loading and unloading tests were conducted. These tests aimed to reveal the evolution characteristics and interrelationships of total external input energy, elastic deformation energy, dissipation energy and plastic deformation energy under different graded cyclic loading and unloading modes. The findings show that the initial peak strength and platform stress of the honeycomb are influenced by the release of the elastic energy during the unloading process. The total external input energy, elastic deformation energy and plastic deformation energy of the honeycomb exhibit a nonlinear increase as the number of unloading levels rises. However, the dissipation energy decreases with the number of unloading levels in the first three cycles, and the upper limit of the cycle load is larger in the last stage. The disturbance effect is stronger than the enhancement effect, resulting in an inverse trend in the dissipation energy. As the upper limit of the cyclic load is elevated, the damage inside the honeycomb increases, with the severity increasing closer to the initial peak strength of the honeycomb. Furthermore, raising the lower limit of the cyclic load leads to a reduced release of elastic energy and amplifies the level of damage.