The invention provides a method for preparing ethylene glycol from cellulose. In the method, the cellulose serves as a reaction raw material; a multi-metallic catalyst consists of catalytic active components comprising transition metals iron, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, iridium and platinum of groups 8, 9 and 10, and the metallic state, carbides, nitrides and phosphides of molybdenum and tungsten; and the high-efficiency, high-selectivity and high-yield preparation of the ethylene glycol from the cellulose is realized through a catalytic conversion process under a hydrothermal condition that the hydrogen pressure is 1 to 12 MPa and the temperature is between 120 and 300 DEG C. Compared with the ethylene glycol industrial synthesis route taking ethylene as the reaction raw material, the reaction provided by the invention has the remarkable advantages of regenerative raw material, environmental-friendly reaction process and atom economy.