Abstract: A series of phthalimide-donepezil (PTA-DPZ) hybrids (5a-e, 6a-l) were designed, synthesized and evaluated as selective inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). The results showed that some hybrids had strong AChE inhibitory activity with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) at nanomolar range, which was better than the control drugs galanthamine and tacrine, and equivalent to DPZ. Compound 6k exhibited the strongest inhibition to AChE with an IC₅₀ value of 0.13 μmol·L^-1. Kinetic and molecular modeling studies showed that 6k targeted both catalytic active site and peripheral anionic site of AChE. Moreover, some compounds could inhibit AChE-induced β-amyloid (Aβ) aggregation. In addition, absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion prediction results showed 6k conforms to the Lipinski's rule of five and had high partition coefficient P value. These compounds, especially 6k, may be considered as a dual-functional lead compound for in-depth research.