Abstract： (R)-3-aminobutanol[(R)-1]was a versatile intermediate of several drugs,and it was of great significance to optimize its synthetic process.According to a patent,the final product was(S)-3-aminobutanol instead of the required(R)-product if prepared with(R)-α-phenethylamine[(R)-3]as the chiral auxiliary agent.So,with(S)-3 as the chiral auxiliary agent,compound(R)-3-[[(S)-1-phenylethyl]amino]butan-1-ol[(R)-5]and(S)-5 were prepared by the reductive amination of 4-hydroxy-2-butanone(2),and then(R)-5 and(S)-5 were transformed into the corresponding hydrochlorides.After that,compounds 5 hydrochloride was isolated by recrystallization with a mixed solvent of ethanol and ethyl acetate(volume ratio=3∶1).After alkalization,compound 5 was underwnt the de-benzylation with palladium charcoal and ammonium formate to obtain compound 1 with a total yield of 56.04％(based on 2),a purity of 98.5％and ee of 99％.