The first ring-closing metathesis of chiral, polyoxygenated, differently O-substituted, acyclic 1,8-nonadienes is reported. Compared with other methods, this is one of the best synthetic alternatives for the preparation of enantiomerically pure, highly functionalized cycloheptenol derivatives in terms of simplicity, efficiency and chemical yields. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.