The development of metal-catalyzed hydroboration was initiated in a single paper by Männig and Nöth in 1985 [1]. They demonstrated that catecholborane reacted with simple alkenes in the presence of transition-metal catalysts, the most effective being Wilkinson's catalyst, RhCl(PPh 3 ) 3 . Since this reaction of catecholborane with alkenes is normally rather slow, even at elevated temperatures, this observation provided a real opportunity for catalysis. Prior to this work, the only precedent had been the addition of a secondary alkoxyborane to the same rhodium complex, giving a borylrhodium hydride analogous to known silylrhodium hydrides [2]. The synthetic potential of catalytic hydroboration was quickly realized and further extended through Burgess's demonstration of asymmetric catalysis [3], which was later refined and extended by Hayashi [4]. All this early work has been reported in a 1991 review [5], with a later and more extensive review by Belet'skaya and Pelter in 1997 [6]. As these reviews are readily available, the present chapter is confined largely to developments that have taken place since the beginning of 1997. Fig. 2.1 summarizes some of these early milestones. Although metal catalysts other than rhodium have been examined, for example in the palladiumcatalyzed hydroboration of allenes [7], the majority of the interesting developments have been made with rhodium.In the interim period, results have accumulated steadily, in endeavors to address and extend the chemistry beyond the initial perceived limitations. These limitations include the following: (a) the effective catalytic syntheses are confined to the reactions utilizing catecholborane; (b) the scope of alkenes for which efficient rate, regio-and enantioselectivity can be achieved is limited, and (c) the "standard" transformation mandates the oxidation of the initially formed (secondary) boronate ester to a secondary alcohol, albeit with complete retention of configuration [8]. Nonetheless, for noncatalytic hydroboration reactions that lead to the formation of a trialkylborane, a wide range of stereospecific transformations may be carried out directly from the initial product, and thereby facilitate direct C-N and C-C bond formation [9].A reaction pathway for catalytic hydroboration was suggested by Evans and co-workers [10], and amplified through computational studies [11]. This involves the rhodium acting through oxidative addition across the B-H bond, and the resulting borylrhodium hydride complexing to the alkene (reversibly). This is followed by a hydride migration, with a subsequent reductive elimination of the alkylboronate ester to complete 33 2