Disclosed are optically active aromatic carboxylic acid derivatives represented by the formula (I): ##STR1## (wherein R.sub.2 represents an alkoxyalkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms or an alkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, which alkyl group may be substituted with a halogen atom; represents a number of 1 or 2; m represents a number of 0 or 1; and * indicates asymmetric carbon atom) and a process for producing such derivatives through the following reaction steps: ##STR2## The optically active aromatic carboxylic acid derivatives represented by the above-described formula (I) are useful as a liquid crystal material and can be also utilized as an intermeidate for the preparation of pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals and the like.