Disclosed is a method for simultaneously preparing a pyromellitic acid and a terephthalic acid with coal serving as a raw material. The method includes firstly, adding potassium hydroxide, a coal sample and distilled water in a high pressure kettle to perform a reaction, cooling after the reaction to obtain an oxidation product, filtering and removing insoluble residues to obtain a filter liquor, acidizing the filter liquor by a concentrated sulfuric acid to enable a water soluble acid to be completely free, extracting a processed solution by butanone to obtain an extract liquor, subjecting the extract liquor to a vacuum evaporation to obtain a concentrate, recycling the butanone, subjecting the concentrate to a vacuum drying to obtain the water soluble acid, subjecting the water soluble acid to a selective decarboxylation in a mixed medium of an sulfuric acid, potassium acid sulfate and the distilled water to obtain the pyromellitic acid, adding coal acids and catalysts which remain after the preparation of the pyromellitic acid in a reacting kettle to perform a constant temperature isomerization reaction of the coal acids to obtain a filter liquor, cooling the filter liquor after the reaction, adjusting potential of hydrogen (pH) of the filter liquor by an diluted hydrochloric acid, precipitating the terephthalic acid in a sedimentation mode, filtering, washing and drying to obtain the refined terephthalic acid. By means of the method, the pyromellitic acid and the terephthalic acid can be simultaneously prepared, the reaction conditions are mild, conditions for devices are low, the terephthalic acid is a main product due to a high yield, and the pyromellitic acid is an auxiliary product.