An environmentally benign and efficient method has been developed for the synthesis of functionalized tetrahydroindole derivatives in aqueous media under catalyst-free conditions, by simply combining a phenylglyoxal monohydrate, an enaminone, and a barbituric acid. The advantages of this method are that it is catalyst free, has an easy workup, provides good yields, and uses water as solvent, which make this procedure facile and practical.