3-Ethyl-4-methyl-3-pyrrolin-2-one, a five-membered α,β-unsaturated lactam derivative, has various applications in medicinal chemistry. It can be synthesized by employing following as starting materials:allylamine, via palladium(II)-assisted cyclization4-methoxybenzylamine, via a ring-closing-metathesis strategy3-ethyl-1-(4-methoxybenzyl)-4-methyl-1,5-dihydro-2H-pyrrol-2- one