The invention relates to processes for preparing 17-alkynyl-7-hydroxy-steroids, such as 17-Ethynyl-10R,13S-dimethyl 2,3,4,7,8R,9S, 10,11,12,13,14S,15,16,17-hexadecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthrene-3R, 7R,17S-triol (also referred to as 17α-ethynyl-androst-5-ene-3&bgr;,7&bgr;,17&bgr;-triol), that are essentially free of process impurities having binding activity at nuclear estrogen receptors.