A novel and efficient conversion process of glycerol to 1,3-dihydroxyacetone (DHA) via indirect oxidation was developed. The idea is to oxidize the middle hydroxyl group of glycerol to a carbonyl group with the help of a group protection technique, and then the protection reagent is removed by hydrolysis. With this new process, the conversion is conducted in three steps, namely, acetalization, oxidation, and hydrolysis. The oxidation step is the focus of this conversion process. In our work, three oxidant systems (CrO3 anion resin oxidant system, TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl)/NaBr/NaClO system, and TEMPO/NaBr/Air system) were experimentally examined to verify the feasibility of this new process. The process of this conversion is also preliminarily designed on the basis of the laboratory procedure described in the experimental section, which offers a potential foundation for the large-scale production of DHA from glycerol.