An effective palladium-catalyzed regioselective hydroformylation of olefins with formic acid is described. The ligand plays a crucial role in directing the reaction pathway. Linear aldehydes can be obtained in up to 93% yield with >20:1 regioselectivity using 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane (dppp) as the ligand. The reaction process is operationally simple and requires no syngas.