Pig liver esterase (PLE) was used for the preparation of optically active alkyl allenecarboxylates with axial chirality. Free and immobilized enzymes were used as biocatalysts for the kinetic resolution of racemic ester substrates. Whereas the biotransformations using the free biocatalyst resulted in moderately to high enantiomeric ratios, the immobilization significantly decreased the E-value. The reaction conditions were optimized with respect to the enantiomeric ratio and scaled up. The enantiomeric ratio (E-value) was thereby enhanced by a factor of four to E=60. Under optimized conditions (free enzyme, addition of acetone as a cosolvent and Triton X-100 as an emulgator) in a preparative scale biotransformation, 282 mg of optically pure S-(+)-2-ethyl-4-phenyl-2,3-hexadiene-carboxylic acid methylester (96% ee, 82% yield) and 257 mg of R-(-)-2-ethyl-4-phenyl-2,3-hexadiene-carboxylic acid (83% ee, 80% yield) could be synthesized from the racemic substrate.