This study signifies the size‐dependent catalytic activity of Ni‐nanocatalyst for the selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde and Suzuki‐Miyaura cross‐coupling reaction. A series of polyvinylpyrrolidone capped nickel nanoparticles (NPs) with variation in their size are synthesized by polyol method. The morphological studies revealed that average size of Ni‐NPs (Ni‐NP1, Ni‐NP2, and Ni‐NP3) lies in the range of 10–12, 7–9, and 3–5 nm respectively. The optical measurements showed a significant blue shift in the absorption spectra for Ni‐NPs with decreasing particle size. The magnetic hysteresis loop revealed that the remanent magnetization (MR) decreases and coercivity (HC) increases with the decrease in particle size demonstrating a distinct size effect. The Ni‐NP3 was observed to possess higher surface area (79 m2g−1) and efficient activity for the selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde to cinnamyl alcohol and also in the biphenyl formation via C−C cross‐coupling reaction relative to Ni‐NP1, Ni‐NP2, and commercially available Raney Ni.