Hexahydro-3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-1-methyl-2H-azepin-2-one was prepared by aromatization of hexahydro-1-methyl-3-(3-oxocyclohexen-1-yl)-2H-azepin-2-one using Br_2reagent in 90% yield at room temperature. Meptazinol was obtained by reduction of 3-ethylhexahydro-3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-1-methyl-2H-azepin-2-one using RED-Al as reducing agent in 70% yield. The present approach offers several advantages such as shorter reaction time, high yields, less power consumption,and mild reaction condition, thus suitable for large-scale preparation.