A regioselective biomimetic oxidative cyclization strategy for the construction of aryldihydronaphthalene skeletons has been developed as an efficient synthetic approach to the preparation of natural 8‐8‐cyclic diferulic acid and canabisin D. The oxidative coupling of ethyl 5‐tert‐butylferulate catalyzed by different oxidants yielded tetrahydrofuran or dibenzylidenesuccinate‐type 8‐8‐coupling products, which were subsequently subjected to acid‐catalyzed cyclization to produce several isomeric trans‐aryldihydronaphthalenes. The reaction mechanisms for all the cyclization reactions have also been proposed.

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