The present invention relates to a process for producing an ether carboxylate which includes the steps of (1) reacting an aliphatic monohydric alcohol with an alkylene oxide in the presence of an alkali catalyst (2) neutralizing a reaction solution obtained in the step (1) with an acid such as hydroxycarboxylic acids to obtain an ether alcohol and (3-1) reacting the obtained ether alcohol with a monohalogenofatty acid or a salt thereof and an alkali metal hydroxide, or (3-2) subjecting the obtained ether alcohol to catalytic oxidation reaction in the presence of a catalyst. The obtained ether carboxylate has a less odor and a high quality and is therefore suitably used in the applications such as cosmetics and toiletries.
