Acid-base bifunctional mesoporous materials (AB-MCM-41) with aminopropyl and propanesulfonic acid in the same mesoporous material have been synthesized by two different methods: postsynthetic grafting and direct synthesis. AB-MCM-41-g was gained by the modification of SO3H-MCM-41 surfaces with organic amine functional groups, while AB-MCM-41-co was prepared through co-condensation of trialkoxyorganosilanes with tetraethyl orthosilicate. The bifunctional samples possess hexagonal arrays of uniform pores, large surface area, high pore volume and excellent acid-basic properties. One-pot acidbase cascade reactions were wonderfully achieved in the presence of the efficient acid-base catalysts, which demonstrate the coexistence of acid and base sites in the same material. In addition, the AB-MCM-41-g possesses higher activity for one-pot deacetalization-Knoevenagel and deacetalization-nitroaldol (Henry) reactions in contrast to AB-MCM41-co and this outcome is achieved under simpler synthetic conditions utilizing less time and less material. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.