With water as the reaction medium, an efficient protocol has been developed for the synthesis of Z-β-sulfonyl-α,β-unsaturated carbonyl products via water-promoted sulfonylation of alkynylcarbonyl compounds with sodium sulfinates. This strategy could effectively avoid the use of toxic organic solvents, catalysts and additives. This method features a wide substrate scope with a broad range of functional group tolerance, utilizes easily available starting materials, can be scaled-up, and is operationally simple.