atom economy has been developed for the synthesis of N-aryl-N′-(4-pyridinyl)ureas. With cheap selenium as the catalyst, carbonmonoxide (instead of phosgene) as the carbonyl reagent, N-aryl-N′-(4-pyridinyl)ureas can be obtained in a one-pot manner mostly in moderate to good yields via oxidative cross-carbonylation of 4-aminopyridine with a variety of aromaticamines in the presence of oxygen under atmospheric