An innovative route for the construction of 2-oxo and thioxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidines was delineated through a multicomponent reaction under Biginelli conditions, starting from different aromatic aldehydes, ?-ketoesters and urea or thiourea. Proper choice of copper complex (PhNH3)2CuCl4, as a novel homogeneous catalyst, enables facile, efficient, and inexpensive reaction under mild experimental conditions. Moreover, we present the first application of this complex salts in organic synthesis ever. The obtained products are of high purity, and can be easily isolated from the reaction mixture in good to excellent yields. Also, compared to the classical Biginelli reaction conditions, the present method has the advantages in higher yields and experimental and work-up simplicity. To illustrate the joint catalytic action of the Cu2+ and phenylammonium ions, two key steps of Biginelli reaction were examined using the M06 functional.