Optical isomers of DABS-amino acids have been separated in a reversed phae high performance liquid chromatography by adding Cu (Ⅱ)-L-Proline chelate to the mobile phase. The retention behaviors for the DABS-amino acids are discussed in terms of pH of the mobile phase and the concentrations of acetonitrile, Cu (Ⅱ) complex, and buffer. The selectivity of the optical isomers of DABS-amino acids increases with the pH of the mobile, and the concentration of the chelate, but decreases with concentration of the oganic modifier. The concentration of buffer does not affect the optical separation selectivity. A separation mechanism is illustrated by cis and trans formation based on the steric effect of the ligand exchange reaction between DABS-amino acids and the copper chelate.