An efficient heterogeneous catalyst (Ni(II)–Vanillin–Schiff base–MCM-41) has been synthesized by immobilization of nickel(II)–vanillin complex on MCM-41 nanostructure and characterized by XRD, TGA, BET, EDS, SEM, ICP-OES, TEM and FT-IR spectroscopy. The catalytic activity and stability of the prepared compound has been studied in some multicomponent reactions with polyhydroquinoline, 1H-indazolo [1,2-b]phthalazine-trione and 2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-one derivatives under mild condition reactions. All the reactions were carried out in the presence of water as the solvent and under solventfree conditions. The simple work up, mild conditions, excellent yield, inexpensive and non-toxic catalyst; makes this protocol both attractive and economically viable. More importantly, this catalyst can be reused several times without any significant loss of its catalytic activity
