This article reviews the metal catalyzed syntheses of aniline and pyrrole leading to conductive polymers. Considering that these materials are commonly produced via electrochemical or chemical processes, catalytic methods could represent a strategic tool for improved technologies based on the use of clean reagents, such as dioxygen and hydrogen peroxide. The advantage of avoiding either the use of a large amount of reagents or the formation of unsustainable amounts of by-products is highlighted. Beside synthetic and mechanistic aspects of the catalytic preparation of polyaniline and polypyrrole, a critical description of the morphological properties, related to the choice of the catalytic system, is presented. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.