The process for synthesizing 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol by liquid phase catalytic hydrogenation of a compound of formula: ##STR1## in which R is a hydrogen atom or a linear or branched alkyl radical containing from 1 to 8 carbon atoms and optionally partially fluorinated, comprising carrying out the hydrogenation in the presence of a nickel catalyst and in the presence of an aliphatic tertiary amine as a cocatalyst.