The enantio-differentiating hydrogenation of methyl acetoacetate was carried out over a (R,R)-tartaric acid-NaBr-modified reduced Ni catalyst. Reduced Ni was pre-modified in a methanol solution of tartaric acid and NaBr. It was revealed that the pre-treatment of methanol by molecular sieves was essential for attaining the high enantio-differentiating ability of 80-90% and high durability during repeated uses of the recovered catalyst.