A series of chiral trans-[RuCl2(dipyridylphosphine)(1,2-diamine)] complexes have been synthesized andcharacterized by NMR and single-crystal X-ray diffractionstudies. These Ru complexes combined with (CH3)3COK in2-propanol formed a very effective catalyst system for thehydrogenation of a diverse range of simple aromatic ketoneswith high activity (substrate-to-catalyst ratio up to 100 000)and excellent enantioselectivity (up to >99.9%). The catalystsystem was also found to be stable in solution even under anormal atmosphere.