A series of glycoluril derivatives have been synthesized in water at room temperature from urea and 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds in the presence of phosphoric anhydride. The reaction time is about 10 minutes using one mole of 1,2-dicarbonyl compound, three moles of urea, and half mole of P 4 O 10 , but the reaction occurs also, even if with longer reaction times, with very small amounts of P 4 O 10 which is recovered at the end of reactions. In fact, several catalytic turnovers can be performed using the same reaction solution obtained after separation by simple filtration of the glycolurils.