Multicomponent one-pot synthesis of Hantzsch dihyropyridine (DHP) was achieved by the condensation of benzaldehyde, ethyl acetoacetate and ammonium acetate at room temperature using environmentally friendly as-synthesised medicinally acceptable hydrotalcites (HT) and hydrotalcite-like (HT-like) materials as solid base catalysts. The multifunctional activity of these materials is again proved by this important reaction. Among the catalysts screened, MgAl2-HT (Mg/Al atomic ratio = 2.0) showed maximum yield (61% in 6.5 h using acetonitrile as solvent). We propose that the high activity of this catalyst may be attributed to cooperative contribution of acid-base bifunctional sites. The versatility of these materials was checked by employing various aldehydes (acyclic, cyclic and aromatic) which showed reasonable yields of DHPs over MgAl2-HT. To our knowledge, this is the first report wherein HT and HT-like materials performed as catalysts for this multicomponent reaction and also the first case of employing a solid base catalyst for DHP synthesis. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.