We described here a method to stabilize Pd(0) on the surface of hollow magnetic mesoporous spheres (HMMS), with Fe3O4 nanoparticles embedded in the mesoporous shell. The catalyst was characterized by TEM, XRD and VSM. It was found that the catalyst showed a high activity for the one-pot direct reductive amination of aldehydes with nitroarenes in the presence of molecular hydrogen in ethanol, even at room temperature. Besides, the catalyst could be recovered in a facile manner from the reaction mixture and recycled six times without loss in activity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.