Department of Organic Chemistry, CSIC – University of Zaragoza, C/Pedro Cerbuna, 12, E-50009 Zaragoza, Spain; *E-mail: jmfraile@unizar.es Fine chemicals have been defined in many ways, but one definition would be that they are chemical products with specific properties which give them a high added value. As a consequence these molecules are, in general, polyfunctional molecules that require highly selective synthetic methods. Therefore, catalysis plays a crucial role in fine chemicals synthesis,and any improvements in catalytic performance can have a very positive impact on the fine chemicals industry. The Congress on Catalysis Applied to Fine Chemicals (CAFC) is devoted to the application of any type of catalyst (homogeneous,heterogeneous or enzymatic) to the synthesis of fine chemicals, with special emphasis on selectivity. Previous conferences in this series have been held in The Netherlands (2003), Germany (2005) and Italy (2007). The latest, CAFC9,was held in Zaragoza,Spain, from 13th to 16th September 2010 (1), in the magnificent Paraninfo Building of the University of Zaragoza. It was organised by the Heterogeneous Catalysis in Selective Organic Synthesis Group at the university, with financial support from the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), the University of Zaragoza and the Government of Aragon. The scientific programme consisted of nine sessions, with four plenary lectures, five keynote lectures, and 31 oral communications, as well as two poster sessions. Overall, around 125 participants from both academia and industry in 20 countries attended this event. Researchers involved in areas from the synthesis of target molecules in the pharmaceutical industry to catalyst development were able to discuss their work and share their experiences. The contributions covered a wide range of work in fields such as enzymatic catalysis, organocatalysis, solution-phase and supported complexes of a large variety of metals, heterogeneous acids and bases, supported metals, and less conventional subjects such as the application of neoteric solvents (ionic liquids, supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2), etc.), continuous flow reactions, or metal–organic frameworks. However, for this review only relevant works involving