Enantioselective hydrolysis for the production of chiral styrene oxide was investigated using the epoxide hydrolase activity of a newly isolated Rhodosporidium kratochvilovae SYU-08. The effects of reaction parameters - buffer type, pH, temperature, initial substrate concentrations, phenyl-1,2-ethanediol concentrations on hydrolysis rate, and enantioselectivity - were analyzed. Optically active (S)-styrene oxide with an enantiomeric excess higher than 99 % was obtained from its racemate. with a yield of 38 % (theoretically 50% maximum yield) from an initial concentration of 80 mM.