It would be “shameful” to spend huge sums of money on the celebrations when “our people are dying of cholera”, he said, state television reported.
Cholera has killed about 60 people in Tanzania in the last three months.
This will be the first time in 54 years Tanzania will not hold celebrations to mark independence from the UK.
Mr Magufuli’s party, Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), has governed since colonial rule ended on 9 December 1961, winning a new mandate in elections last month.