An eco-friendly green reaction process was developed to achieve efficient hydrogenation of ethyl levulinate (EL) to γ-valerolactone (GVL) over commercial-available Raney Cu catalyst with H2 as the hydrogen source. Raney Cu presented higher catalytic activity among a series of Cu based and Raney type catalysts. The maximum yield of GVL was 98.3% at 160 °C for 3 h. It was found that Raney Cu had great reusability and could be used at least three times without loss of activity. Moreover, the results of XRD, XPS and ICP confirmed the high stability of the catalyst. A possible reaction pathway was also proposed. Ethanol was the main byproduct in this reaction; this study therefore provides a green and efficient method for the conversion of EL to GVL.