The core-shell of Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 modified by epichlorohydrin and 1-methyl-imidazole (Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2-EPIM), a new green recyclable nanocatalyst, was designed and prepared. This nanocatalyst was characterized using fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), elemental mapping technique, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), N 2 adsorption-desorption by Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The catalytic activity of Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2-EPIM was assessed for synthesis of trisubstituted imidazoles via one-pot condensation reactions of benzil, aldehyde and ammonium acetate under the optimal reaction condition (PEG 200, 100°C, 0.02 g catalyst). This nanocatalyst displayed remarkable superiorities, such as environmental friendliness, shorter reaction time, excellent yields, reusability of the catalyst and simple workup procedure.