in this study, aluminosilicate mcm-41 has been found to be an efficient catalyst for reaction betweendifferent benzaldehyde derivatives and 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione to give open chain analogue of1,8-dioxo-octahydroxanthene in excellent yields. no evidence for the formation of cyclization products wasobserved. the catalyst can be used several times after recovery.