Organocatalytic asymmetric reaction is an increasingly active area in organic synthesis. Asymmetric Henry reaction is a versatile tool for the synthesis of chiral nitro compounds. The reported organocatalysts for asymmetric Henry reaction include chiral guanidines, chiral (thio)urea derivatives, cinchona alkaloids and so on, which could catalyze the asymmetric Henry reaction with high catalytic activity and excellent enantioselectivity. The applications of various organocatalysts in asymmetric Henry reaction are reviewed in this paper. The reaction mechanism, catalytic activity and the asymmetric induction influenced by the structure of organocatalysts and the reaction conditions are also discussed.

Key words: organocatalysis, enantioselectivity, asymmetric Henry reaction