Condensation of iminodiacetic acid 1 with various amines i.e., cyclohexanamine, 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole, pyridin-2-ylmethanamine, pyridin-3-ylmethanamine, pyridin-4-ylmethanamine, 2-morpholinoethanamine, thiophen-2-ylmethanamine, 2-(thiophen-2-yl)ethanamine, furan-2-ylmethanamine, 2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)ethanamine, and 1-(3-aminopropyl) pyrrolidin-2-one 2a–k under microwave irradiation gave the corresponding piperazine-2,6-dione derivatives 3a–k in quantitative yields. Piperazine-2,6-dione derivatives 3a–k on condensation with 1H-indole-2-carboxylic acid under microwave irradiation gave the corresponding 4-(1H-indole-2-carbonyl)piperazine-2,6-dione derivatives 4a–k in quantitative yields. All the synthesized compounds (3a–k & 4a–k) were purified by crystallization and characterized by spectroscopic means. On screening at a concentration of 10 lM, compounds 3k, 4e, 4i breast (T47D), 4j lung (NCI H-522), 3i colon (HCT-15), 4e ovary (PA-1), and 4g liver (HepG-2) exhibited good anticancer activity.