Polymer-supported Zn-salen (PS-Zn-salen) complexes were synthesized, characterized and used as a catalyst for one-pot oxidative esterification of aldehydes with alcohols. The PS-Zn-salen heterogeneous catalyst exhibited a high-performance for the oxidative esterification of aldehydes to the corresponding methyl/ethyl esters using hydrogen peroxide as a green oxidant. Due to the synergistic effect of polymer support, the heterogeneous catalyst presented superior catalytic activity and afford 100% conversion of 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzaldehyde and 4-chlorobenzaldehyde to corresponding esters under optimized conditions. The different alcohol substrates study (viz. methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, allyl alcohol and benzyl alcohol) showed reasonable selectivity for esters, indicating the scope of the catalysts. Significantly, the synthesized complexes possess good hydrophobic/heterogeneous properties, which permit facile reclamation of the catalyst by using mere filtration. Moreover, the effect of counter anions of complex also studied which indicated that there is no appreciable influence on the conversion of product. The catalyst was reused up to 5th successive run with the average conversion of ester 87.4%. Mechanistic studies have recognized that this “one pot” direct oxidative esterification proceeds through acid formation, proven by a GC–MS. The catalyst is also found to be very stable, up to 280 °C, confirmed by the thermo gravimetric study. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.