PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for efficiently producing a benzene tetracarboxylic acid from a raw material containing two or more tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbons each having a specific structure.SOLUTION: The benzene tetracarboxylic acid is efficiently produced by selectively hydrogenating the raw material, which contains two or more hydrocarbons selected from the group consisting of tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbons having an anthracene skeleton and tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbons having a phenanthrene skeleton, into a 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro form using, as a hydrogenation catalyst, a catalyst containing two or more active metals selected from the group consisting of nickel, molybdenum, cobalt and tungsten, and then oxidizing the 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro form with a metal oxide.