Abstract A facile and efficient base promoted one-pot dimerization of halo cyclohexene derivatives leading to a de novo synthesis of biologically important diarylmethane and diarylmethanone derivatives is reported. A plausible mechanism for the unexpected formation of the title compounds involves dehydrohalogenation, 1,6-conjugate addition, subsequent aromatization through C-C bond cleavage and dehydrohalogenation. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.