Alcohol oxidations are typically performed with stoichiometric reagents that generate heavy-metal waste and are usually run in chlorinated solvents. A water-soluble palladium(ll) bathophenanthroline complex is a stable recyclable catalyst for the selective aerobic oxidation of a wide range of alcohols to aldehydes, ketones, and carboxylic acids in a biphasic water-alcohol system. The use of water as a solvent and air as the oxidant makes the reaction interesting from both an economic and environmental point of view.