The invention belongs to the technical fields of spices and in particular relates to a synthetic process of ethyl maltol. The process comprises a chlorination reaction step, a hydrolysis rearrangement step and a sublimating and purifying step, wherein the chlorination reaction is realized by reacting alpha-ethylfuran methanol with chlorine at the flow ratio of (1.8 to 2.3L):1kg to generate a hydroxy chlorovinylketone intermediate; the hydrolysis rearrangement means that the hydroxy chlorovinylketone intermediate is hydrolyzed at the temperature of 90 to 105DEG C for 3 to 4.5 hours to obtain an ethyl maltol coarse crystal; the coarse crystal is sublimated and purified under the conditions that the temperature is 200 to 225DEG C and the pressure is 0.080 to 0.090MPa to obtain an ethyl maltol product. The synthetic process disclosed by the invention is detailed and specific in operation and is stable; the chlorinating efficiency is improved and the generation of foamed yellow crystals is controlled; meanwhile, sublimating and purifying conditions are controlled, thereby effectively improving the yield and the purity of the ethyl maltol.