A series of transparent, monolithic silica materials doped with 5-20 wt % of (-)-dibenzoyl-L-tartaric acid (DBTA) and (+)-D-glucose have been prepared via the acid-catalyzed sol-gel reactions of tetraethyl orthosilicate in the presence of the organic dopants. The materials show optical rotations, which can be directly measured on a common polarimeter. The optical rotation was found iu be proportional To the dopant concentration and to the thickness of the samples. The specific rotations measured at 589 nm at 25 degrees C are +53 degrees for the D-glucose-doped and -112 degrees for the DBTA-doped silica samples, which are close to those for the same compounds measured in liquid solutions. Both the DBTA- and D-glucose-doped silicas exhibit a simple normal dispersion with negligible concentration effects. The organic compounds retain their stereochemical structures during the sol-gel reactions and, therefore, their optical activities. These materials can be regarded as nanocomposites in which the organic dopants uniformly distribute in the amorphous silica networks.