A concise and versatile syntheses of 11-16-membered macrolides and 13-15-membered macrolactams have been achieved using a Tsuji-Trost type reaction. This approach is composed of intramolecular cyclization employing ethyl carbonate with carboxylic acids and catalytic amount of Pd(PPh3)4 to form carbon-heteroatom covalent bonds with no use of stoichiometric reagents.