Reducing greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions is one of the most stringent priorities of our society to minimize their dramatic effects on health and environment. Natural gas (NG) engines, in particular at lean conditions, emit less CO2 in comparison to combustion engines operated with liquid fuels but NG engines still require emission control devices for NOx removal. Using state‐of‐the‐art technologies for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with NH3, we evaluated the interplay of the reducing agent NH3 and formaldehyde, which is always present in the exhaust of NG engines. Our results show that a significant amount of highly toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is formed. All catalysts tested partially convert formaldehyde to HCOOH and CO. Additionally, they form secondary emissions of HCN due to catalytic reactions of formaldehyde and its oxidation intermediates with NH3. With the present components of the exhaust gas aftertreatment system the HCN emissions are not efficiently converted to non‐polluting gases. The development of more advanced catalyst formulations with improved oxidation activity is mandatory to solve this novel critical issue. HCN formation over common SCR catalysts: Natural gas engines emit less CO2 in comparison to common liquid fuel combustion engines and are therefore an attractive alternative. Nevertheless, they still require emission control devices for NOx removal. As HCHO is present in the exhaust, this study was focused on the interplay of HCHO and other compounds of an SCR gas mixture and revealed the formation of HCN over a broad variety of common NH3‐SCR catalysts.