Abstract: Aryl ketones are important organic compounds, which are widely used in organic synthesis, biomedicine and functional materials. Herein, using acidic zeolite HBeta as a heterogeneous catalyst, the hydration reaction of aryl alkynes to prepare aryl ketones is realized under mild conditions without noble metal catalysts and toxic ligands. By comparing the reactivity of the both Beta catalysts with different amounts of acid sites, it can be seen that the weak acid and medium strong acid sites of the catalyst are most likely the active sites for the alkyne hydration reaction. HBeta catalyst possesses more weak acid and medium strong acid sites than Beta, showing excellent catalytic activity in this system. The best yield (100%) was obtained at 120 ℃ for 6 h of the HBeta-catalyzed phenylacetylene hydration reaction. As an ideal alkyne hydration catalyst, HBeta zeolite showed good reproducibility with no obvious loss of activity after at least 5 cycles. The catalytic system showed good compatibility with different alkyne substituents, providing a valuable process route for the preparation of ketones.