This application provides a method for preparing pregnanelonone, comprising the following steps: Step 1) under the action of a first catalyst, progesterone reacts with an
acid anhydride to obtain the compound shown in formula (I); Step 2) under the action of a dehydrating agent and a second catalyst, a
diol reacts with the compound shown in formula (I), and after deprotection, the compound shown in formula (II) is obtained; Step 3) under the action of a ligand and a third catalyst, the compound shown in formula (II) is selectively reduced by
hydrogen to obtain the compound shown in formula (III); Step 4) the compound shown in formula (III) reacts with a
reducing agent and is then deprotected to obtain pregnanelonone. This application uses progesterone as the starting material, and obtains pregnanelonone through
enol esterification, ketal protection,
ester hydrolysis, hydrogenation, and reductive
hydrolysis. This method is mild, uses conventional reagents, is simple to operate, suitable for industrialization, and yields a high-quality product with a purity of over 99.0% and an overall yield of approximately 90.0%.