Hydration of nitriles has been practically used for the production of amides, wherein the homogeneous catalysts including acids/bases and metal complexes are generally employed. Here, we report that nanorod manganese oxide (NR-MnO2) as a sustainable and low-cost heterogeneous catalyst is highly active and selective for the hydration of aromatic, heterocyclic, and aliphatic nitriles into the corresponding amides. The catalytic properties of NR-MnO2 significantly outperform that of commercial Pd/C and Ru/C catalysts and even the state-of-the-art homogeneous catalysts in the literature. In the continuous recycling tests, the NR-MnO2 catalyst exhibited excellent durability with negligible deactivation, which offers a good opportunity for practical production of these chemicals in the future.