Palladium-catalyzed one-pot synthesis of fluorenones from simple bromobenzaldehydes and arylboronic acids, is presented. The process involves the formation of dual C–C bond without isolating the initial Suzuki coupled product. Significantly, the strategy delivered the products in good to excellent yields and scale-up reaction is also feasible. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim