The invention discloses a selective hydrogenation method for C2 distillate. The method is characterized in that: the reaction conditions comprise that: the inlet temperature of a reactor is 25 to 90 DEG C, the reaction pressure is 1.5 to 2.5MPa, the gaseous hourly space velocity of the single-stage reactor is 2,000 to 12,000/h, and the ratio of hydrogen to acetylene is 0.6-4:1; the catalyst carrier is an Al2O3 carrier and contains 0.03 to 0.05 percent of Pd and 0.05 to 0.20 percent of Ag based on 100 percent of the mass of the catalyst; and measured by adopting a hydrogen-oxygen titration method, the total metal dispersion degree of the Pd and the Ag in the catalyst is 30 to 70 percent. The method greatly reduces the generation amount of green oil, reduces the surface coking amount of the catalyst, prolongs the service life of the catalyst, improves the stability of process operation, and also can improve the increment of ethylene so as to improve the economic benefit of a device.