Keywords: 4-methyl-2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid, cyanoacetic ester, 4-chloroquinoline, amidation, hydrolysis, decarboxylation, X-ray structural analysis.In organic chemistry the method of forming new carbon-carbon bonds based on the ability of carbanions, obtained from active methylene compounds, to react readily by substitution with alkylating agents and other reactive halogen-containing substances, has been known for a long time and is widely used for preparative purposes. Hydrolysis of the substituted malonic, cyanoacetic, or acetoacetic esters synthesized in such a way, gives the corresponding acids, distinguished by an inclination to decarboxylate on heating. The whole chain of conversions based on these reactions in fact represents a simple and effective means of substituting halogen in a molecule by CH 2 COOH or CH 2 COR [2].We noted previously the ease of forming 4-alkyl(or aryl)amino-substituted 3-ethoxycarbonyl-2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinolines on interacting the ethyl ester of 4-chloro-2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid (1) with alkylamines [3], or anilines [4]. This circumstance permits the suggestion that the 4-chloro-substituted ester 1 also possesses adequate reactivity for reaction with C-nucleophiles, such as the carbanion generated in the presence of bases from cyanoacetic ester.As experiments carried out by us showed this reaction is indeed feasible and the ethyl ester of 4-(cyanoethoxycarbonylmethyl)-2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid (2) is formed in the system DMF/K 2 CO 3 without any difficulty. Theoretically subsequent alkaline hydrolysis must lead to 2-(3-carboxy-2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinolin-4-yl)malonic acid (3) which, in its turn, on thermal decarboxylation must form 4-carboxymethyl-2-oxo-1,2-dihydroquinoline-3-carboxylic acid (4). However, according to data of chromatomass spectrometry, the product of hydrolysis of ester 2 unexpectedly proved to be not the substituted malonic acid 3 but a pure compound with molecular mass 203 units. The 1 H NMR spectrum shows the presence in the sample being investigated of COOH and NH groups (broadened singlets at low field), a quinoline nucleus (four signals with typical multiplicity in the aromatic region), and a C-methyl group (singlet of intensity 3H at _______ * For Part 95 see [1]. __________________________________________________________________________________________