The synthesis of benzyl(dimethyl)amine by reductive methylation of benzylamine with formaldehyde over Pd/C and Raney-Ni catalysts was studied. It was found that over the palladium catalyst, the major by-product is only toluene, whereas over the nickel catalyst, small amounts of toluene are formed and the other by-products originating from the double bond migration in an imine intermediate. The observed differences suggest different interactions between the reactants and the palladium or nickel surface.