Abstract Biginelli reaction involves acid-catalyzed one-pot synthesis of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones (DHPMs) using easily-accessible starting materials, namely, aldehyde, active methylene compound and (thio)urea. DHPMs have stimulated resurgence of interest in the past two decades due to their wide ranging pharmacological activities and presence of diverse natural products. Presently, green approaches to asymmetric Biginelli reaction are being explored for bioactive chiral DHPMs. In materials chemistry, DHPMs are increasingly finding applications in the development of materials such as polymers, adhesives, fabric dyes, etc. In view of the ease with which the Biginelli reaction is conducted, many exciting prospects await for its exploitation in various fields.