Magnetic reduced graphene oxide supported CuO (rGO/Fe3O4–CuO) as a heterogeneous catalyst in cross dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) reactions has been demonstrated for the synthesis of esters using methyl aromatics and aldehydes/benzyl alcohols as coupling partners. Various benzylic esters were prepared efficiently from cheap raw chemicals by employing tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as a “green” oxidant