Second-order rate constants (kN) have been measured spectrophotometrically for reactions of Y-substituted phenyl benzoates (1a-h) with azide ion (N3) in 80 mol % H2O/20 mol % DMSO at 25.0 0.1 oC. The Brnsted-type plot for the azidolysis exhibits a downward curvature, i.e., the slope (b lg) changes from 0.97 to 0.20 as the basicity of the leaving group decreases. The pKao (defined as the pKa at the center of the Brnsted curvature) is 4.8, which is practically identical to the pKa of the conjugate acid of N3 ion (4.73). Hammett plots correlated with s o and s constants exhibit highly scattered points for the azidolysis. On the contrary, the corresponding Yukawa-Tsuno plot results in an excellent linear correlation with r = 2.45 and r = 0.40, indicating that the leaving group departs in the rate-determining step. The curved Brnsted-type plot has been interpreted as a change in the rate-determining step in a stepwise mechanism. The microscopic rate constants (k1 and k2/k1 ratio) have been calculated for the azidolysis and found to be consistent with the proposed mechanism.