D-pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) is an essential vitamin to animals and has large markets in the feed, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries. The biochemical role of D-pantothenic acid in all organisms is to form the core of the structure of coenzyme A. Biosynthesis of coenzyme A from pantothenate occurs in all organisms, while the synthesis of D-pantothenic acid is absent from animals. Thus D-pantothenic acid is an essential nutrient to animals. Ketopantoate is an intermediate of pantothenate biosynthesis pathway. Ketopantoate can be stereoselectivity converted to D-pantoic acid and further used for D-pantothenic acid production. However, the economic production of ketopantoate is a bottleneck of D-pantothenic acid production from ketopantoate. Hence, this study provided a novel method for synthesis of ketopantoate by aldol reaction of α-ketoisovalerate and formaldehyde, and α-ketoisovalerate was produced from fermentation with glucose as the raw material. 25.2 g/L α-ketoisovalerate was produced by an engineering Klebsiella pneumoniae strain with glucose as the main carbon source. 19.9 g/L Ketopantoate was synthesized from formaldehyde and α-ketoisovalerate by an aldol reaction at basic conditions. The reaction parameters of reaction were optimized and a conversion ratio of 83.5% was obtained at reaction conditions of pH 13 and 45℃. The ketopantoate in the solution was converted to ketopantoyl lactone at acidic conditions of pH<3. Ketopantoyl lactone was extracted to isobutanol with an extraction rate of 50.9%. The organic phase was decolourized, and ketopantoyl lactone crystal was obtained after concentration. Ketopantoyl lactone was converted back to ketopantoate in an aqueous solution in the pH range of 7~10, and ketopantoate crystal was obtained after concentration. Ketopantoate production from glucose via α-ketoisovalerate as an intermediate was set up, which suggested a novel and competitive technical route to produce ketopantoate. The whole processes were combinated biological fermentation and chemical reactions and had a high conversion ratio. This method adopted renewable and cheap original materials rather than highly toxic raw materials. The optimal temperature of the reaction was 45℃, which was in mild conditions. Overall, a novel and promising method for ketopantoate and ketopantoyl lactone production was provided.