The invention discloses a
copper-
zinc catalyst, a preparation method thereof and application of the
copper-
zinc catalyst in preparation of
ethanol by hydrogenation of
methyl acetate. Comprising the following steps: (1) mixing water, a
silicon source, an aluminum source and alkali, stirring I, and crystallizing in a closed container to obtain a solution A; (2) mixing the solution A with an alkali solution, and stirring II to obtain a solution B; (3) mixing water, a
copper source, a
zinc source and an auxiliary agent source to obtain a solution C; and (4) mixing the solution B and the solution C, controlling the pH value to be 6.5-9.5, aging, washing,
drying and
roasting to obtain the copper-zinc catalyst. And carrying out
hydrogen reduction on the copper-zinc catalyst, and carrying out
hydrogenation reaction. The specific surface area of the catalyst prepared by the preparation method provided by the invention is increased, the particle size of the active species Cu is relatively small, the
thermal stability of the catalyst is favorably improved, the catalytic activity is remarkably improved, and the catalyst has higher
methyl acetate conversion rate and
ethanol selectivity.