The synthesis and characterization of a novel catalytic system including Pd(OAc)(2) attached to a bis(oxazoline) (=BOX) ligand that is covalently bonded to 3-mercaptopropyl-functionalized silica gel is presented. The catalyst was tested for Suzuki-Miyaura reactions of different aryl halides with phenylboronic acid. The heterogeneity of the catalytic system was investigated using different approaches, indicating that there is virtually no Pd leaching into the reaction solution under the applied reaction conditions. Furthermore, our results show that the catalytic system can be reused multiple times without significant loss of stability or structure. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.