Racemates of (η3-allyl)tricarbonyliron lactone complex Fe(CO)3{η1:η3-C(O)XCH2CHCMeCH2} 1a (X = O) and (η3-allyl)tricarbonyliron lactam complex 2a (X = NMe) are resolved on a preparative scale by HPLC on cellulose tris(3,5-dimethylphenyl)carbamate/silica gel RP-8 and the absolute configuration of (-)-2a is determined by X-ray crystal structure analysis.