Novel sulfonic acid functionalized imidazolium salts including 3-methyl-1-sulfonic acid imidazolium chloride {[Msim]Cl} (an ionic liquid), 1,3-disulfonic acid imidazolium chloride {[Dsim]Cl} (an ionic liquid) and 3-methyl-1-sulfonic acid imidazolium tetrachloroaluminate {[Msim]AlCl4} (a solid) efficiently catalyze one-pot multi-component condensation of beta-naphthol with aromatic aldehydes and amide derivatives under solvent-free conditions to afford 1-amidoalkyl-2-naphthols in excellent yields (81-96%) and in very short reaction times (1-40 min). (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.