Monolinoleoyl trehalose, maltose and cellobiose were synthesized by Candida antarctica lipase-catalyzed condensation in an organic solvent with a low water content. The use of a mixture of pyridine and tert-butanol as the reaction medium resulted in a high product concentration on the order of mmol/l for the synthesis of linoleoyl trehalose and maltose. The highest product concentration was achieved with the 0.4 volumetric fraction of pyridine. Linoleoyl cellobiose was also synthesized although its concentration was approximately one tenth the concentrations of linoleoyl trehalose and maltose. The surfactant properties of linoleoyl trehalose, maltose and cellobiose were measured. Among the esters, linoleoyl trehalose showed the strongest surface activity.