We have worked out a new approach to 1,3,4-trisubstituted beta-carbolines of pharmaceutical interest. As central building blocks we used 2-acylindoles, which are readily available from indole-2-Weinreb amides. Bromination at C-3, followed by Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling with isoxazole-4-boronates gives 2-acyl-3-isoxazolylindoles. Ring closure to the beta-carbolines was accomplished by reductive ring transformation upon catalytic hydrogenation in the presence of Cs2CO3.