PURPOSE: To obtain an alcohol/ketone mixture economically at high efficiency from a heat-stable and easily handleable starting compound by performing the oxidation of an alkane with an organic hydroperoxide in the presence of osmium under specified temperature conditions.

CONSTITUTION: An alkane is catalytically oxidized with an organic hydroperoxide at a temperature higher than 20°C in the presence of osmium or an osmium compound to obtain an alcohol/ketone mixture. The reaction temperature is desirably in the range of 7-150°C. The amount of the osmium used is 10-2 to 10-5 mol per mol of the organic hydroperoxide, and the amount of the organic hydroperoxide used is in the range of 0.001-100 mol%, desirably 0.01-25 mol% based on the alkane. The alkane is exemplified by methane or cyclodecane, and the organic hydroperoxide is exemplified by cyclohexyl hydroperoxide.