An extremely efficient acylative kinetic resolution of d,l-1,2-diols in the presence of only 0.5 mol% of binaphthyl-based chiral N,N-4-dimethylaminopyridine was developed (selectivity factor of up to 180). Several key experiments revealed that hydrogen bonding between the tert-alcohol unit(s) of the catalyst and the 1,2-diol unit of the substrate is critical for accelerating the rate of monoacylation and achieving high enantioselectivity. This catalytic system can be applied to a wide range of substrates involving racemic acyclic and cyclic 1,2-diols with high selectivity factors. The kinetic resolution of d,l-hydrobenzoin and trans-1,2-cyclohexanediol on a multigram scale (10 g) also proceeded with high selectivity and under moderate reaction conditions: (i) very low catalyst loading (0.1 mol%); (ii) an easily achievable low reaction temperature (0 degrees C); (iii) high substrate concentration (1.0M); and (iv) short reaction time (30 min).