An exponential high accuracy compact finite difference method is proposed to solve the one-dimension (1D) convection-diffusion-reaction equation with variable coefficients. Fir-stly, the equation is rewritten in the form of convection diffusion equation. Then the exponential high order compact finite difference scheme for the convection diffusion equation with constant coefficients and the remainder term modification approach are utilized to obtain an exponential high accuracy compact finite difference scheme for the 1D convection-diffusion-reaction equation with variable coefficients. Secondly, the necessary condition on grid step length is analyzed theoretically if the scheme in this paper has a fourth-order accuracy when the Peclet number is very high. Lastly, the Thomas approach is applied to deal with the algebraic equations. Numerical examples, mostly with the boundary layer where sharp gradients may appear due to high Peclet number, are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed scheme.