A novel procedure has been developed for selective synthesis of N-aryl-1,3,5-dithiazinanes, 1,2,6,7-tetrahydro-3,5,1,7-benzodithiadiazonine, and 6,7-dihydro-1,3,5,7-benzotrithiazonine by reactions of aniline derivatives with N-methyl-1,3,5-dithiazinane or 1,3,5-trithiane in the presence of transition and rare earth metal salts and complexes.N-Substituted 1,3,5-dithiazinanes are widely used as selective sorbents for noble and rare metals [1], fungicides [2], biocides [3,4], and food additives [5, 6]; a popular method of their synthesis is based on cyclothiomethylation of primary amines with formaldehyde-hydrogen sulfide [7]. This reaction was studied in detail with the use of various aliphatic and aromatic amines [8]. Its considerable disadvantage is the necessity of using gaseous hydrogen sulfide and aqueous formaldehyde. Moreover, most reactions are characterized by low selectivity. For example, the condensation of o-phenylenediamine with H 2 S-CH 2 O (Scheme 1) gives a mixture of compounds I-IV which are difficult to separate [9]. Analogous reaction with m-phenylenediamine gives rise to a mixture of various macroheterocyclic compounds, whereas p-phenylenediamine failed to react with H 2 S-CH 2 O under similar conditions [8].With a view to develop an ecologically safe and efficient procedure for the synthesis of N-substituted 1,3,5-dithiazinanes we examined reactions of isomeric phenylenediamines, aminophenols, and aminobenzenethiols with N-methyl-1,3,5-dithiazinane and 1,3,5-trithianes as synthetic equivalents of H 2 S and CH 2 O. Preliminary experiments showed that, among Fe, Co, Ti, Zr, Ni, Pd, Sm, and Yb salts and complexes used as catalysts, the most efficient in the reactions of aromatic amines with N-methyl-1,3,5-ditihazinane were CoCl 2 and Sm(NO 3 ) 3 · 6 H 2 O. Therefore, all subsequent experiments were carried out in the presence of these catalysts.o-Phenylenediamine reacted with an equimolar amount of N-methyl-1,3,5-ditihazinane in the presence of 5 mol % of CoCl 2 (CHCl 3 , 20°C, 3 h) to produce 1,2,6,7-tetrahydro-3,5,1,7-benzodithiadiazonine (I) with high selectivity (yield 75%). The reaction of p-phenylenediamine with N-methyl-1,3,5-dithiazinane, catalyzed by Sm(NO 3 ) 3 · 6 H 2 O (DMF, 60°C, 3 h), involved only one amino group with formation of 4-(1,3,5-dithiazinan-5-yl)aniline (V) in 70% yield. Analogous reaction with m-phenylenediamine resulted in the formation of poorly soluble substances. The