Relationship between substrate Structure and enantioselectivity is studied for the asymmetric hydrogenation of 42 different (E)-alpha, beta-disubstituted acrylic acids (propenoic acids) over cinchonidine-modified Pd/C. The beta-phenyl group is indispensable for high enantioselectivity of alpha-phenylcinnamic acid (2,3-diphenylpropenoic acid, 81% ee), and substitution on this group affects markedly the selectivity. The high ee up to 92% was achieved by the beta-p-alkoxyphenyl substitution, and the selectivity is ascribed mainly to stronger interaction of the substrate with the chiral modifier on the catalyst surface. In contrast, substitution on the alpha-phenyl group does not affect notably the enantioselectivity (80-82% ee) or even the alpha-phenyl group itself is not indispensable but replaceable with a properly bulky group for the high enantioselectivity, (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.