Objective To develop an efficient synthetic route of Aaptamine,a marine alkaloid in this study.Methods Starting from readily available 6,7-dimethoxytetrahydroisoquinoline,the target natural product can be synthesized successfully in six steps with an overall yield of approximately 21%.The key steps in the synthesis involved a methylation and a cyclization promoted by Vilsmeier reagent in the presence of Brønsted acid,leading to the formation of a benzo[de][1,6]naphthyridine skeleton.Conclusion The structures of all intermediates and target product are confirmed by 1 H-NMR,13 C-NMR and HR-MS(ESI).The synthetic route is straightforward and efficient,with relatively short steps,laying a foundation for the development and application of Aaptamine-type alkaloids.