A review. After more than 125 yr, the Friedel-Crafts alkylation is still one of the most studied and most utilized reactions in org. synthesis. What is the secret of this astonishing success Perhaps the great versatility in; scope and applicability continues to justify its crucial role in the synthesis of more and more complex mols. However, it has taken more than a century for asym. catalytic versions of this reaction to be developed and subsequently extended to a range of arom. compds. and alkylating agents. Herein recent developments in the design and use of catalytic and stereoselective strategies for the alkylation of arom. systems and synthesis of a wide range of polyfunctionalized enantiomerically enriched compds. were reviewed.