Pseudomonas cepacia lipase-catalysed hydrolysis of the acetates of racemic alkan-2- and -3-ols was carried out in the presence of organic media. Good to high enantioselectivity was observed in an acetone-water solvent system, the system leading to (R)-alcohols of 80-96% ee. Enantioselectivity can be affected by the presence of the double bond in the unsaturated acetate prepared from an alkenol. The increased enantioselectivity observed for an acetone-water reaction system was utilized in the synthesis of optically active natural products possessing alkan-2-ol skeletons, such as (2R,6R,10R)-6,10,14-trimethylpentadecan-2-ol, the natural form of the sex pheromone of Corcyra cephalonica, and (R)-sulcatol, an aggregation pheromone of ambrosia beetles.