A simple, and efficient procedure for the synthesis of novel 2,5-diaryl-1-hydroxy-1H-imidazol-4-yl derivatives via a one-pot, four-component reaction between hydroxylamine, benzonitriles, arylglyoxals and cyclic 1,3dicarbonyl compounds (Melrum's acid or dimedone) in ethanol under reflux conditions without using bases and catalysts is reported. All the products were obtained in good yields and their structures were established from their spectroscopic data.