The invention discloses a layered and zonal control based voltage regulation method of an active power distribution network. The voltage regulation method comprises the following steps of firstly, determining an installation position of DG according to a position index L so that the maximum voltage support effect is developed by the DG; secondly, dividing voltage regulation regions of each voltage regulation device by a concept of voltage sensitivity; and finally, regulating voltage by a method of coordinative sequence control. Compared with blind determination of a DG access position, the access positions and number of the DGs are determined according to the position index, and the purpose of providing maximum voltage support by the DG can be achieved; with the adoption of a layered voltage regulation strategy, the action sequence of each voltage regulation device is determined according to VRZ where a voltage out-of-limit node is located, the action frequency of the device is reduced, and mutual influence degree among control regions is reduced, and the purpose of rapid and effective voltage regulation can be achieved; and meanwhile, the conflict action among voltage regulation devices is prevented.