Tan Zuoren went on trial in August and was sentenced in February on the vaguely defined charge of inciting subversion of state power.
The Sichuan provincial high court upheld the ruling in a brief hearing Wednesday morning, Tan's wife, Wang Qinghua, said by telephone.
Chinese bureaucrats rarely release information about sensitive political cases and court officials reached at two separate departments said they had no information about Tan's appeal.
The denial of his appeal underscores the government's determination to suppress questions about why so many schools collapsed during the quake, which killed 90,000 people.
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According to official figures, almost 7,000 classrooms collapsed, killing 5,335 students, but the government has refused to respond to complaints that many schools were poorly constructed and lacked emergency exits and other basic safety features.
Parents of dead children launched a short-lived protest movement, to which authorities
- ever vigilant against criticism and potential unrest - responded with jailings and threats. Avant-garde artist Ai Weiwei, who has also investigated student deaths, was detained and beaten by police while attempting to attend Tan's August trial.
In Hong Kong, about 30 human rights activists protested the court's decision Wednesday outside the Chinese government's liaison office in the semiautonomous territory, which has its own legal system and civil liberties.
Members of the group chanted "Release Tan Zuoren immediately," and one protester was detained after scuffling with police officers trying to stop another demonstrator from throwing tofu at the office.
Hong Kong radio RTHK reported on its website the man was later charged with attacking a police officer and freed on bail of 300 Hong Kong dollars ($38). Hong Kong police didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
Wang said she had seen Tan from a distance in the court room and the two exchanged smiles and waves but weren't allowed to speak. She said the only remarks made during the 10-minute hearing were from the judge.
Tan, 56, who has been detained since April 2009, appeared to be in high spirits and good health, Wang said.
"It's not too hard to take. Just a few hundred days to go," Wang said.