An object of the present invention is to provide a method for synthesis of keto acids by hydration of an acetylene compound (acetylene-carboxylic acids) under mild conditions free from harmful mercury catalysts and a method for synthesis of amino acids from acetylene-carboxylic acids in a single container (one-pot or tandem synthesis). In one embodiment of the method according to the present invention for synthesis of keto acids, acetylene-carboxylic acids is hydrated in the presence of a metal salt represented by General Formula (1), where M1 represents an element in Group VIII, IX, or X of the periodic table, and X1, X2, or X3 ligand represents halogen, H2O, or a solvent molecule, and k represents a valence of a cation species, and Y represents an anion species, and L represents a valence of the anion species, and each of K and L independently represents 1 or 2, and k×m=L×n.