A new type of solid base catalyst was synthesized by chemical and thermal activation of fly ash, collected from Thermal Super Power Station situated in Kota, Rajasthan, India. The chemical activation was carried out by 50 wt.% NaOH followed by thermal activation at 450 degrees C. The modified physiochemical property of solid base fly ash (SBFA) was determined by X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, N(2) adsorption-desorption studies and Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. The results reveal that the catalyst is nano-crystalline in nature with crystallite size 11 nm and particle size in the range 840 nm to 6.95 mu m. The surface basicity and therefore, catalytic activity in SBFA was originated by increased hydroxyl content as compared to fly ash, suggesting that the catalyst possess higher surface active sites. The basicity of the catalyst was measured by liquid phase, solvent free, single step condensation of benzaldehyde with cyclohexanone giving higher conversion (> 70%) and selectivity (> 80%) of desired product alpha,alpha'-dibenzylidenecyclohexanone. This excellent conversion shows that the catalyst has sufficient basic sites both on the surface and in the bulk, responsible for the catalytic activity. Furthermore, this catalyst may replace conventional environmentally hazardous homogeneous liquid bases making an ecofriendly; solvent free, solid base catalyzed process. The application of fly ash to synthesize a solid base catalyst finds a noble way to utilize this abundant waste material. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.