Michael addition of some substituted anilines to methyl acrylate in acidic medium afforded the methyl 3-(substituted anilino)propionates (1a-1i), which on treatment with hydrazine hydrate in methanol were converted into corresponding 3-(substituted anilino) propionohydrazides (2a-2i) in good yields. Microwave irradiation of the latter with pentane-2,4-dione afforded 1-(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-3-(substituted anilino)propan-1-ones (3a-3i) under solventless conditions. The structures were confirmed by spectroscopic data, elemental analyses and in case of the 3h by single crystal X-ray diffraction data.