Ursodeoxycholic acid was produced by the stereoselective reduction of 7-ketolithocholic acid. This hydrogenation reaction was catalyzed by the T-1 Raney nickel and potassium borohydride was used as hydrogen donor instead of inflammable hydrogen gas. Potassium tert-butoxide was introduced to improve yield of ursodeoxycholic acid from about 70% to a maximum of 94% by inducing the stereoselectivity on hydroxyl group at 40 8C and atmospheric pressure. Reduction reaction conditions such as amount of reactants, temperature and stirring speed were optimized. The whole process is safe and low-cost. Eventually, the product, ursodeoxycholic acid was characterized by IR, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra.