Spirocyclic compounds, particularly spirooxindoles that comprise a tetrahedral sp3‐hybridized carbon atom at the C‐3 position of an orthogonally shaped bicyclic structure have recently received increasing attention in drug discovery and development, besides their major potential in natural products and synthetic organic chemistry. They are found to be the major structural constituents of many alkaloids, and key active building blocks for the construction of various pharmaceutically significant molecules. On the other hand, with the increasing awareness of people about protecting their health and the living environment from the pollution caused by chemical laboratories and industry, the development of a synthetic method that provides alternatives to the traditional one by introducing atom economical sustainable processes is of scientifically and technically demanding but challenging. To address these concerns and inspired by the natural photosynthesis process, recently visible light‐induced chemistry appears to be a highly economic, sustainable, and alternative approach to organic synthesis. The present mini‐review aims to highlight the recent progress accomplished in the straightforward construction of spirooxindoles accelerated by visible light irradiation from the period of 2015 to date. Besides reviewing the advantages achieved in this field, we also attempt to find out the drawback, mechanistic rationalization, and scopes of future applications.

Dedicated to Professor Dhevalapally B. Ramachary on the occasion of his 50 th birthday.

Recent updates on the synthesis of CF3-containing spirocyclic-oxindoles by employing N-2,2,2-trifluoroethylisatin ketimines are described in this review article.