New hydrophobic ionic liquids containing chiral camphorsulfonamide units were used as chiral auxiliaries in the titanium catalyzed asymmetric diethylzinc addition to benzaldehyde. The ionic catalyst system shows catalytic properties similar to those of related nonionic counterparts in terms of activity and enantioselectivity. Interestingly, the ionic ligands can easily be recycled and reused without loss of activity or selectivity. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.