Montmorillonite K10 efficiently catalyzed a one pot-three component cyclocondensation of isatoic anhydride, NH4OAc and aromatic/heteroaromatic aldehydes under ambient conditions to produce the corresponding 2-substituted-2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones in good yields. The 2-(2-chloroquinolin-3-yl)-2,3-dihydroquinazolin-4(1H)-ones 3a-d were screened for their antitumor activity against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma tumor cells © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.