The invention discloses a preparation method of tralopyril, and particularly relates to the technical field of agriculture. The preparation method provided by the invention comprises the steps of 1, dissolving p-chlorobenzonitrile in acetonitrile, and carrying out a salt forming reaction under the catalysis of an organic base to obtain an alkali metal salt (I) of p-chlorophenyl amino acrylonitrile; 2, dissolving 1, 1, 1-trichloroacetone in alkyl chloride, carrying out a one-step bromination reaction with bromine, and carrying out extraction and distillation to obtain 1-bromo-3, 3, 3-trifluoroacetone (II); 3, dissolving the intermediate I in alkane, carrying out a ring closing reaction with the intermediate II through acid catalysis to obtain a 2-(4-chlorphenyl)-5-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrrole-3-nitrile crude product, and carrying out distillation and recrystallization to obtain a pure product; and 4, performing two-step bromination on the intermediate III through bromine to obtain tralopyril. According to the intermediate obtained by the preparation method disclosed by the invention, the final product tralopyril is low in impurity content and high in product purity, the raw materials are simple and easy to obtain, the preparation process is simple, the reaction conditions are mild, and the preparation method is economical and environment-friendly and meets the requirements of industrial mass production.