Acid-catalytic 1,3-butadiene condensation with para-quinones followed by the obtained product oxidation may be performed in one stage as one-pot process, if assisted by the aqueous solutions of Mo-V-P heteropoly acids with a composition of H a P z Mo y V x O b. 1,4-naphthoquinone condensation with 1,3-butadiene in the HPA solutions with no organic solvents yields 9,10-anthraquinone (AQ) mixed with tetrahydro-AQ (THA) and dihydro-AQ (DHA). However, AQ yield and its purity may be considerably improved by using water-mixable organic solvents, e.g., acetone, 1,4-dioxane, as well as high vanadium content HPA such as H 15 P 4 Mo 18 V 7 O 89 and H 17 P 3 Mo 16 V 10 O 89. Process optimization provides 70% yield of reaction product containing no less than 90% AQ.