The invention discloses a method for producing ethanol by hydrogenating acetic acid. The method is as follows: at a temperature of 250-400°C, a pressure of 0.5-10.0 MPa, a mass space velocity of 0.2-8.0 hours-1, and a feed molar ratio of hydrogen to acetic acid Under the condition of 1:1~20:1, mix acetic acid and hydrogen, contact and react with the supported transition metal carbide catalyst, and hydrogenate acetic acid to produce ethanol; the process of the invention is simple, the price of the catalyst is low, and the performance of the catalyst is stable Well, the stable operation time of the device is long, which can avoid the frequent switching operation of reactor reaction and regeneration, the catalyst can be regenerated, can avoid the post-treatment of a large amount of spent catalyst, and has little impact on the environment.