Three-dimensional orthogonal woven composites (3DOWCs) offer significant advantages in engineering applications due to their designability for spatial structures and ability to minimize delamination damage. As primary load-bearing structures, 3DOWCs are always in preloading conditions prior to potential low-velocity impact (LVI) events. This paper presents a macro-meso coupled finite element (FE) model for investigating the response of preloaded 3DOWCs subjected to LVI. The accuracy of the proposed numerical model is validated by a comparison with available experimental data in terms of impact performance and damage state. Furthermore, the influence of preload and impactor shape on the LVI performance of 3DOWCs is examined, and detailed analysis is provided regarding the associated damage mechanisms. This study offers a transferable numerical approach that can be applied to studying the coupling problems of LVI and preload in other textile composite structures.