Abstract Polyguanidine is used as a novel and highly efficient catalyst in the Knoevenagel reaction of aldehydes with active methylene compounds in water to afford substituted electrophilic alkenes. This method is applicable for a wide range of aldehydes including aromatic and heterocyclic substrates. The polyguanidine catalyst can be recovered by simple filtration and reused many times for the aqueous Knoevenagel reaction without ...