Abstract: An economically advantageous process for preparing 2-methylnaphthalene is provided. The process comprises the steps of azeotropically distilling a 1-methylnaphthalene-containing oil with ethylene glycol to produce a denitrified oil; subjecting the denitrified oil to an isomerization to promote an isomerization from 1-methylnaphthalene to 2-methylnaphthalene and produce an isomerization product; and recovering 2-methylnaphthalene from the isomerization product. The process may further comprise the step of hydrodesulfurizing or hydrogenating a portion or all of the denitrified oil to produce a hydrodesulfurized or hydrogenated product so that the product alone or the product together with the non-hydrodesulfurized or hydrogenated oil can be subjected to the subsequent isomerization step. Catalytic life of the isomerization catalyst is markedly prolonged to enable a production of 2-methylnaphthalene at a high yield.