Synthesis of 2-amino-6-(1, 2-dihydro-4-hydroxy-2-oxoquinolin-3-yl)-4-arylpyridine-3-carbonitrile has been accomplished via NbCl5 catalysed multicomponent reaction (MCR). The tested compounds showed better potency than Neomycin and a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli. Similarly some of these have showed good activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella planticola and Escherichia coli that were comparable to Ciprofloxacin. Also these compounds possess good antifungal activity that was better than Miconazole and comparable to Ciprofloxacin hydrochloride. © 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim