The 1,3-benzenediol and ethyl acetoacetate as raw materials were used to synthesize 7-hydroxy-4-methyl coumarin under microwave irradiation with Zirconium sulfate tetrahydrate as the catalyst. The effect of various reaction conditionson on the yield was explored.Experiment shows that the yield reached up to 87. 5%,when the reaction conditions are as follow:n(1,3-benzenediol):n(ethyl acetoacetate)1.0, Zirconium sulfate tetrahydrate 0.4g,10mL cyclohexane, the reaction time 12 min,microwave radiation power 500W.