To provide a method for effectively proceeding a dehydrogenation reaction of an alkane under a mild condition.

The method is to produce an alkene (unsaturated hydrocarbon) by dehydrogenating the alkane (saturated hydrocarbon) in the presence of a catalyst. The catalyst is an organometallic catalyst containing a transition metal element in the eighth-tenth group of the periodic table and the dehydrogenation reaction is carried out in the presence of an amine compound under a carbon dioxide atmosphere. As a preferable example, the hydrogenation reaction of the alkane is carried out in the presence of the transition metal complex catalyst and the amine compound under the carbon dioxide atmosphere at 40-250°C under 0.2-30 MPa pressure. The by-produced hydrogen gas is led to a formic acid derivative by reacting with carbon dioxide, so a reaction returning to original alkane by the reaction of once formed alkene with hydrogen is suppressed and, as a result, the yield of the desired alkene is improved.