Oxidation of a primary or secondary alcohol to the corresponding aldehyde or ketone with reagents3 such as chromium(V1) in sulfuric acid or pyridine4 , specially prepared manganese dioxide in pentane5, aluminum isopropoxide in acetone 6, , or lead tetraacetate in pyridine7 has received considerable attention in recent years. Certain problems have been associated with oxidation procedures in general; i.e., failure of the reagent to be specific or selective often leads to oxidation of the aldehyde product to the corresponding acid as well as to reaction with unsaturated linkages in the molecule and subsequent degradation of the substrate. Furthermore, the presence of a strong acid as catalyst can give rise to reaction of the formed aldehydic function with the substrate alcohol to yield a hemi-acetal which is readily oxidized to an ester, a major side-reaction for chranium(V1) oxidations in sulfuric acid. The presence of a strong base catalyst is again undesirable in that isomerization and/or condensation can occur with more active molecules, for example, in the Oppenauer oxidation reaction. Another requirement for several oxidation procedures is that a high reflux temperature is necessary for oxidation to proceed, a factor which often leads to complicating side-reactions. This communication reports our findings that potassium ferrate(V1) KPFeOl,*, is a selective oxidizing agent at room temperature in water and mixed solvents. Primary alcohols and amines and secondary alcohols are converted rapidly to the corresponding aldehydes or ketones. Unsaturation in the molecule as well as aldehyde, tertiary alcohol and tertiary amine functional groups are resistant to oxidation under the conditions employed. The oxidizing ability of ferrate(V1) on organic substrates has not been investigated to a significant extent. Becarud', in an investigation of the properties of ferrate(V1) salts, reported that no specific organic reaction was found for this oxidizing agent. Zhdanov and 279