The application provides a preparation method of 4-(
hydroxymethyl phosphinyl)-2-oxobutanoic acid, comprising the following steps: a) adding 4-
halogen-2-oxobutanoate into dialkyl methyl phosphite dropwise and controlling the temperature to be-30-40 DEG C, and performing a reaction under vacuum to obtain an intermediate liquid; b) mixing the intermediate liquid obtained in the step a) with an acid, performing a
hydrolysis reaction, and then performing a purification treatment to obtain 4-(
hydroxymethyl phosphinyl)-2-oxobutanoic acid. Compared with the prior art, the preparation method provided by the application uses dialkyl methyl phosphite and 4-
halogen-2-oxobutanoate as raw materials, utilizes the SN2 intramolecular rearrangement mechanism, can realize high-efficiency construction of a P-C bond, and the one-step yield of the Arbuzov reaction can be more than 95%, and the final target product 4-(
hydroxymethyl phosphinyl)-2-oxobutanoic acid can be obtained through subsequent acidic
hydrolysis of the skeleton structure, and the overall yield can be close to 90%; compared with other methods, the preparation method provided by the application is simple in steps, has few reaction by-products, and has a great improvement in yield.