A number of new chalcones were prepared from 1,2-bis(2-methoxy-4-vinylphenoxy) ethane by Claisen–Schmidt condensation using a microwave as a heat source, which has beneficial effect on many important aspects such as reducing reaction time, lowering the solvent volume, increasing yield and purity improvement. The synthesized chalcones were characterized on the basis of their chemical properties and spectroscopic data (FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C MNR and CHNO-S). Their biological activities were also investigated and found that some are good anticancer and antioxidants when they subjected to in vitro cytotoxicity test.