MgO nano-rods of several microns in length and 50-100 nm in width were prepared by calcining nesquehonite phase, obtained by simple precipitation using (NH(4))(2)CO(3) under ambient condition. The MgO nano-rod with reasonably high surface area (75-120 m(2) g(-1))exhibits strong activity in solvent-free base catalyzed Claisen-Schmidt condensation giving 99% conversion in 2 h and is easily recyclable with no significant change in catalytic activity. Presence of numerous basic sites of different strengths (surface hydroxyl groups, low coordinate O(2-) sites) is attributed to the observed effect. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.