This paper deals with the synthesis of 3-[o-dichloro (or monochloro-) acetamino-p-vitro-plenyl)-propanol (Ⅱ or Ⅱa), structurally varying from chloramphenicol on the one hand by shifting the dichloroacetamino group from the aliphatic side-chain to aromatic ring and replacing the secondary hydroxyl group by hydrogen on the other, for the purpose of investigating the relation biological action and chemical constitution of the antibiotic.