Process for the production of polyvinyl alcohol resin

A method of producing a polyvinyl alcohol resin comprising a washing step for washing a polyvinyl alcohol obtained by saponification of a polyvinyl ester with a liquid consisting of methyl acetate, methanol and water washing, in which the polyvinyl alcohol washed in the washing step, a slurry containing methyl acetate, methanol and water in a ratio of methyl acetate: 1 to 40 parts by mass, methanol: 50 to 98.9 parts by mass and water: 0.1 to 10 parts by mass and a concentration of solid matter 1 to 30% by mass, the washing and filtration are repeated several times and the filtrate generated by filtering is used for washing in the previous phase and one fresh washing liquid is supplied to the washing tank of the final phase.