Olefins and allylic alcohols have been epoxidized with commercially available hydrogen peroxide (30% H 2 O 2 ) using a phase transfer catalyst, composed of cetyltrimethylammonium cations and a lacunary-type phosphotungstate anion [PW 11 O 39 ] 7 or the complete Keggin-type heteropolyanion [PW 12 O 40 ] 3 , under two-phase conditions using ethyl acetate as the solvent. It was found that the lacunary-type catalyst showed higher activity and better recyclability than the complete Keggin-type catalyst under the same reaction conditions. 31 P NMR spectroscopy and solubility measurements for the two catalysts revealed that the [PW 11 O 39 ] 7 anion had a much faster degradation rate than the [PW 12 O 40 ] 3 anion in an excess of H 2 O 2 , which resulted in the formation of more catalytically active species. As a result, the lacunary-type phosphotungstate anion-based catalyst gave a better catalytic performance than the complete Keggin-type anion in ethyl acetate.heteropolyphosphotungstate, lacunary, epoxidation, degradation rate