The invention belongs to the technical field of organic synthesis and medicines, and particularly relates to a synthesis method of a 1, 3, 4-oxadiazole heterocyclic compound. The method comprises thefollowing steps: by taking a ketonic acid derivative and a trivalent iodine reagent as raw materials, adding a solvent and a photocatalyst, and reacting at room temperature under an illumination condition, thereby obtaining the 1, 3, 4-oxadiazole heterocyclic compound. By using the method provided by the invention, the 1, 3, 4-oxadiazole heterocyclic derivative can be obtained by a one-step methodthrough reaction for 5-10 hours at room temperature, and the yield is 75-96%. According to the reaction, the 1, 3, 4-oxadiazole heterocyclic derivative is simply, conveniently and rapidly synthesizedby using simple and easily available raw materials in one step under an illumination condition, and a simple, efficient and mild new synthesis method is provided for synthesizing the 1, 3, 4-oxadiazole heterocyclic derivative.