An improved process for producing 4-dimethyl amino pyridine is provided. The process comprises quaternizing pyridine with a suitable quaternizing agent in the presence of organic solvent, isolating the resulting salt and aminating the salt, N- [4-pyridyl] pyridinium chloride hydrochloride, with N, N-dimethyl formamide. The resultant reaction mass is hydrolysed in the presence of a base, extracted with a suitable organic solvent and distilled under vacuum to produce 4-dimethyl amino pyridine.
