A selective, effective and sustainable catalytic transfer hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanone on supported palladium using potassium formate as benign hydrogen source at atmospheric pressure and mild reaction conditions has demonstrated. A reaction temperature, catalyst (Pd/C), solvent (water) quantity and type of hydrogen source are found to be most influencing factors for effective phenol conversion. Hydrogen donor potassium formate playing important dual role; as hydrogen source and as additive to enhance the cyclohexanone selectivity. The catalyst Pd/C has successfully recovered through filtration and reused up to few batches without considerable loss of phenol conversion and cyclohexanone selectivity. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.