This account collects the developments and transformations which avoid the utilization of harsh reaction conditions in the field of palladium catalyzed, ortho-directed C-H activation of aniline derivatives from the first attempts to up-to-date results, including the results of our research laboratory. The discussed functionalizations performed under mild conditions include acylation, olefination, arylation, alkylation, alkoxylation reactions. Beside the optimization studies and the synthetic applications mechanistic investigations are also presented.