Provided is a production method for an iodine compound in which iodine is reacted with a substrate in the presence of a porous material having a pore diameter of 500 nm or less or in the presence of the above porous material and an oxidizing agent and a production process for high purity 5-iodo-2-methylbenzoic acid comprising an iodination reaction step carried out by the above-mentioned, a crystal precipitation and separation step in which a product is precipitated by adding water or cooling and then separated and a purification step in which crystal separated is recrystallized using an organic solvent. According to the production method for an iodine compound described above, iodine can be introduced into various substrates at a high selectivity. Since expensive metals and specific reagents do not have to be used, it can readily be carried out in an industrially scale, and the product having a high purity can be obtained. Further, the process comprising the iodination reaction, separation and purification steps described above makes it possible to readily obtain at a high yield, 5-iodo-2-methylbenzoic acid having a high purity which is useful in uses for functional chemical products such as medicines. The process of the present invention comprising iodination reaction, separation and purification steps is characterized by that it is simple in terms of a procedure and that the purification load is smaller, and it is very advantageous in industrially carrying out.