The invention discloses a preparation method of crystalline N-acetoacetanilide. The method comprises the following steps: reacting aniline with diketene, carrying out condensation on the aniline and diketene, adding an acid accounting for 0.01-0.1% of the weight of the above obtained condensation solution into a condensation kettle, heating the obtained solution to 40-70 DEG C, starting the vacuumof a system, gradually increasing the vacuum degree to 610-460 mmHg from 760 mmHg, keeping the vacuum degree at 610-460 mmHg for 10-50 min, and continuously increasing the vacuum degree to 385-310 mmHg; and decreasing the temperature to 40 DEG C or less, continuously increasing the vacuum degree to 160-85 mmHg within 0.5-2 h, finally reducing the vacuum degree to 10-5 mmHg, keeping the vacuum degree for 15-30 min, shutting down a vacuum pump, and carrying out system emptying, centrifuging and drying to obtain the finished uniformly-crystalline quicksand-like N-acetoacetanilide product. A specific crystallization technology adopting a crystallization assistant is developed in the invention, so the product has the advantages of easiness in crystallization formation, high purity, uniform particles, good fluidity, and no agglomeration after long-term storage. The quality of downstream products is improved.