The following has been stolen from [here][1]. Insert the following into your custom module. /** * Implements hook_node_delete(). */ function mymodule_node_delete($node) { if ($node->type == 'mynodetype'){ $nids = db_query('SELECT entity_id FROM {field_data_field_review_reference} WHERE field_review_reference_nid = :nid', array(':nid' => $node->nid))->fetchCol(); node_delete_multiple($nids); } } [1]: http://drupal.stackexchange.com/questions/8054/how-to-manage-and-delete-orphaned-node-references