<p>1,2,3-Triazole-4-carboxylic acids are important pharmacophores in designing biologically active compounds. The wide range of biological activities, such as antibacterial, antispasmodic, hypotensive and anticancer ones, allows the use of these compounds as a scaffold for many drugs. The most commonly used strategies for the synthesis of these compounds are metal-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reactions (CuAAC and RuAAC) and a [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of organic azides to CH acids. The present review is focused on the use of various classes of CH acids for the synthesis of substituted 1,2,3-triazole-4-carboxylic acids and their esters. The paper systematizes the advances achieved in recent years and demonstrates the synthetic possibilities of using different classes of CH acids. The first section discusses the synthesis of target products from widely available β-keto esters. The effect of the nature of both the base and the solvent on the yield of products is analyzed, which is of practical interest for optimizing the reaction conditions. The second section analyzes the interaction of azides with acrylates and acroleins. The third section focuses on the use of understudied vinylsulfonates, and the fourth section on three-component reactions using aldehydes. In addition, the review briefly highlights the key mechanisms of triazole ring formation in the interaction between azides and CH acids. Thus, the data summarized in this work demonstrate the preparative capabilities of the [3 + 2] cycloaddition of organic azides to CH acids as an effective alternative to an azide-alkyne cycloaddition.</p> Graphical abstract