The present invention provides a process for recovering 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone comprising extracting 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone from an aqueous solution containing it with n-butanol in the presence of an inorganic salt to obtain n-butanol layer and, subjecting the n-butanol layer to distillation.As 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone can be recoverable at high purity from an aqueous solution containing 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone easily and efficiently without using alkali, the present process is industrially advantageous.