The present invention belongs to the field of catalysts, and relates to a
silver catalyst for the production of
ethylene oxide by
ethylene epoxidation, characterized in that the
silver catalyst comprises a porous
inert carrier, metallic silver, a high-valence
transition metal element, and a co-auxiliary element, and the high-valence
transition metal element is closely associated with the metallic silver in the form of a compound, wherein based on the total weight of the
silver catalyst, the silver content, calculated as elemental silver, is 10-40 wt%, the high-valence
transition metal element is a
molybdenum element and / or a
tungsten element, and the content of the high-valence transition
metal element in the catalyst is such that the weight ratio of the
molybdenum element, the
tungsten element, and the silver element satisfies the following relationship: MMo is 0-0.0021, MW is 0-0.0053, and F1 is 0.0015-0.0053, wherein MMo and MW are the weight ratio of the
molybdenum element to the silver element in the catalyst and the weight ratio of the
tungsten element to the silver element in the catalyst respectively, and F1=MW+2.52MMo, wherein the silver catalyst has a tungsten element
retention rate and / or a molybdenum element
retention rate of not less than 70%, preferably not less than 80%, and more preferably not less than 85% after being subjected to a water‑leaching treatment. In the present invention, by controlling the content of the high-valence transition
metal element, the silver catalyst has the characteristics of rapidly reaching a high-selectivity state during the initial stage of operation.