A process for the preparation of 4'-hydroxybiphenyl-4-carboxylic acid by reacting a cyclohexanone-4-carboxylic acid compound with phenol in the presence of an acid catalyst, and then subjecting the resulting 4,4-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)cyclohexanecarboxylic acid compound to decomposition and dehydrogenation reactions in the presence of a base and a dehydrogenation catalyst. The aforesaid cyclohexanone-4-carboxylic acid compound is obtained by catalytically hydrogenating a 4-hydroxybenzoic acid compound in a secondary alcohol or tertiary alcohol solvent, and the reaction mixture thus obtained is directly used for the reaction with phenol.