The invention discloses a method for acetylating catalytic hydroxyl, which comprises the following steps: using alcohol or phenol as a substrate, in the acetylating reaction of the alcohol or the phenol, using a Lewis alkaline ionic liquid [HDBU]OAc as a catalyst and acetic anhydride as an acetylating reagent, and carrying out a reaction in a solvent-free condition, wherein the reaction temperature is 40-80 DEG C, the reaction time is 0.75-3.0 hours, the mole ratio of the acetic anhydride to the substrate is 1.0-6.0: 1, and the mole ratio of the Lewis alkaline ionic liquid [HDBU]OAc to the substrate is 10%-30%; after the reaction is completed, adding diethyl ether, filtering, washing upper-layer extracting liquid in sequence by using a saturated NaHCO3 solution and water, adding anhydrousNa2SO4 to dry the upper-layer extracting liquid, and carrying out decompression rotary steaming on the dried upper-layer extracting liquid to remove the diethyl ether, so as to obtain a product. The method for acetylating the catalytic hydroxyl, which is provided by the invention, has the characteristics of moderate reaction condition, high yield and low cost, and the like, and the method is green and safe.