Abstract This paper describes the synthesis of 9-amino-2-and 4-hydroxy-and 2, 4-dihydroxy- 1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydro-acridines 2 and of 9-aminomethyl-1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydro-and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8-octahydroacridines 3 starting from the corresponding 9-carboxamido derivatives. A new synthetical pathway to 9-amino-2-hydroxyacri-dine 9 is also reported.