The invention discloses a preparation method of (2R,3R)-or (2S,3S)-1,4-dimethoxy-1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-2,3-
butanediol. The preparation method comprises the steps of phenylating optically pure
diethyl tartrate to obtain (2R,3R)-or (2S,3S)-1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl butantetraol; reacting with
sulfoxide chloride to generate (4R,5R)-or (4S,5S)-4,5-bis diphenyl chloromethyl cyclic
sulfite; with presence of alkali, implementing
substitution reaction with
methanol in a suitable medium to introduce a methoxy group, thus preparing (4R,5R)-or (4S,5S)-4,5-bismethoxy diphenylmethyl cyclic
sulfite; and with presence of alkali, removing a sulfinyl
protecting group in a suitable medium to obtain (2R,3R)-or (2S,3S)-1,4-dimethoxy-1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-2,3-
butanediol. The method disclosed by the invention is easily available in
raw material, simple and convenient to operate, and low in cost.