A one-pot catalytic synthesis of selectively substituted terphenyl derivatives is reported. The method is based on the combination of a new palladium- and norbornene-mediated aryl-aryl coupling of two molecules of an ortho-substituted aryl iodide with a Suzuki-type arylation. Under the reported conditions, the reaction follows a precisely ordered sequence of steps and the Suzuki coupling only occurs at the end of the sequence. While proposing a new pathway for C-C coupling, the process provides a simple and efficient tool for preparing an interesting class of ortho-substituted terphenyls catalytically and with satisfactory yields. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.