In order to study the effect of different process conditions, such as reaction temperature, reaction time and the ratio of reaction materials on synthesis of the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) sodium xanthate, the synthesis method of PVA sodium xanthate is 2.5% PVA 1788 solution mixed with NaOH solution, then carbon disulfide (CS2) was added.According to the reaction time, reaction temperature and the ratio of raw materials, the different products were prepared by the method of fixation two-change one, and the content was measured. The results show the optimum ratio of the feeding volume is 25∶6.25∶1, the reaction temperature is 20 ℃, and the reaction time is 3 hours, the yield of the PVA sodium xanthate is 85.73% and the effective component of the aqueous solution of 43.10% is PVA sodium xanthate.