Abstract Several new pyrazolo[3,4‐ b ]pyridines were obtained from the reaction of 5‐amino‐1‐aryl‐3‐methylpyrazoles 1 with β‐dimemylaminopropiophenones 2 in pyridine. The structure elucidation of 4,5‐dihydropyrazolo[3,4‐ b ]pyridines 3 is based on nmr measurements and X‐ray diffraction. The treatment of compounds 3 with N ‐bromosuccinimide led to the formation of pyrazolo[3,4‐ b ]pyridines 4 .