The invention relates to a method for preparing a shell distribution catalyst, which comprises the step of using a solution containing effective quantity of active metal components to soak a carrier. The method is characterized in that a solvent in the solution is a mixture formed by one or more compositions of water, alcohol, ether, aldehyde and ketone and at least one surfactant; the content of the surfactant is between 0.01 and 10.00 weight percent in reference to the total weight of the solution; and the soaking step meets the condition that the VL/VC is equal to 0.01-0.99, wherein VL refers to the volume of the soaking solution, and VC refers to the pore volume of the carrier. The catalyst guarantees that distribution of the active metal components in the carrier reveals obvious shell distribution characteristic, and simultaneously guarantees that the active metal components are more uniformly distributed in a shell.