Ruthenium-catalyzed ortho-selective acylation of arylpyridines with acyl chlorides via C-H bond cleavage is described. Aromatic acyl chlorides as well as alpha,beta-unsaturated acyl chlorides were coupled with arylpyridines to give aromatic ketones in the presence of [RuCl2(PPh3)(3)] as a catalyst and potassium carbonate as a base.