Mesoporous poly (4-methylvinylpyridinium hydroxide) (mp-P4MVPH) was prepared as a novel highly efficient purely organic heterogeneous basic catalyst. The physical and chemical properties of the catalyst were investigated by XRD, FT-IR, TG and BET techniques. mp-P4MVPH was effectively employed for the Knoevenagel and Henry reactions. The catalytic activity of this catalyst was compared with P4MVPH/SBA-15 composite to clarify the advantages of purely organic mesoporous materials as catalyst. The results showed that the activity and stability of mp-P4MVPH was excellent. This unique result opens new perspectives for application of purely organic mesoporous polymers as structurally defined hydrophobic catalyst in catalytic reactions. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.