A novel magnetic iron oxide supported copper/Schiff-base complex (Cu/SB-Fe3O4) was prepared, characterized and applied as effective nanocatalyst for the synthesis of biologically active 3,4-ihydropyrimidinones. The Cu/SB-Fe3O4 was prepared by chemical attachment of Schiff-base groups on Fe3O4/SiO2 nanoparticles followed by treatment with copper salt under mild conditions. This was characterized with several techniques such as VSM, TGA, EDX, FTIR, TEM and SEM. The Cu/SB-Fe3O4 nanocatalyst was successfully applied in the Biginelli reaction and gave corresponding biologically active 3,4-dihydropyrimidinones in high yield. Furthermore, this noble catalyst was easily recovered using an external magnet and reused eleven times with keeping its efficiency and stability under applied conditions. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.