The cleavage and addition of ortho C-H bonds in various aromatic compounds such as ketones, esters, imines, imidates, nitrile, and aldehydes to olefins and acetlylenes can be achieved catalytically with the aid of ruthenium catalysts. The reaction is generally highly efficient and useful in synthetic methods. The coordination to the metal center by a heteroatom in directing groups such as carbonyl and imino groups is the key. The reductive elimination to form a C-C bond is the rate-determining step.