A novel dichloro zinc complex (L 1 )ZnCl 2 , where L 1 is N,N′-bis-(2,6-dichloro-benzyl)-(R,R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane, has been synthesized and characterized. The dimethyl derivatives, generated in situ from the well characterized dichloro zinc complexes (L 1 )ZnCl 2 and (L 2 )ZnCl 2 , where L 2 is N,N′-bis-(benzyl)-(R,R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane, were employed as initiators for the ring opening polymerization (ROP) of rac-lactide (rac-LA). The complexes were found to be highly efficient initiators yielding the polylactide (PLA) with a narrow molecular weight distribution. The catalytic activity and heterotactic selectivity of the Zn(II) complexes were affected by the substituents on the phenyl groups of benzyl moieties in (R,R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane. The dimethyl derivative of (L 2 )ZnCl 2 produced highly stereocontrolled PLA with P r =0.75 at −25°C.