PURPOSE: To obtain white and high-purity 5-aminolevulinic acid in high yield according to simple operations without carrying out troublesome recrystallizing operations such as those in a conventional method.

CONSTITUTION: This method for recovering and purifying 5-aminolevulinic acid is to cool a solution, containing 5-aminolevulinic acid and obtained by hydrolyzing 5-phthalimidolevulinic acid with hydrochloric acid to ≤10°C, deposit phthalic acid as a crystal, then carry out the decoloring treatment with active carbon, concentrate the resultant solution to dryness and wash the obtained crystal with ethanol.