Molecular structure and vibrational frequencies of the novel surface enolic species intermediate on Ag/Al2O3 have been investigated by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations and in situ infrared spectroscopy. The geometrical structures and vibrational frequencies were obtained at the B3P86 levels of DFT and compared with the corresponding experimental values. Theoretical calculations show that the calculated IR spectra are in good agreement with the experimental spectroscopic results. In addition, the adsorption energy of enolic species on the Ag/Al2O3 catalyst surface was also evaluated. The reaction mechanism from C2H5OH to enolic species on Ag/Al2O3 catalyst was proposed.