2-Benzyloxy- and 2-tosyloxystyrene were hydroformylated under different reaction conditions with the aim to obtain the corresponding linear aldehydes, valuable intermediates to 2-chromanol, a structural moiety present in several interesting therapeutically active molecules. The best results were obtained by using the catalytic precursor Pt(Xantphos)Cl-2 in toluene or the water-soluble catalytic system Rh(CO)(2)acac/Xantphos(SO3Na)(2) in the biphasic medium water/toluene. Rather good regioselectivities were also achieved employing the unmodified complex Rh-4(CO)(12) at high temperature and low pressure for very short reaction times: unfortunately the chemoselectivity of the process was not satisfactory, due to the extensive formation of the substrate hydrogenation product. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.