A highly porous metal-organic framework (MOF-143) was synthesized and characterized by several methods including PXRD, SEM, TEM and FT-IR. MOF-143 was used as an efficient catalyst for the aza-Micheal reaction between benzylamine and ethyl acrylate to form the principal ethyl 2-(benzylamino) acetate product under mild condition. The solid catalyst could be reused several times without significant deactivation in catalytic activity. No reaction was observed in the absence of the solid MOF-143 catalyst, and the contribution from leached active species in the reaction solution, if any, was negligible.