New homogeneous catalyst comprised of [Ru(methallyl)(2)(cod)] (cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) (1) and 2-diphenylphosphanyl-4-pyridyl(dimethyl) amine (2) is shown to efficiently catalyze the hydration of various nitriles under neutral conditions. The hydration proceeds in the presence of 0.5 mol% of the ruthenium catalyst at 80 degrees C in 1,2-dimethoxyethane solution and the corresponding amide is obtained within few hours without the formation of by products. Comparison of some phosphine ligands for the hydration reveals that the dimethylamino moiety of 2 improves the catalytic performance dramatically. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.