H-Beta zeolite, a microporous solid acid, is demonstrated to be an efficient catalyst for the selective deprotection of cyclic as well as acyclic O-isopropylidene sugar acetals derived from d-glucose, d-xylose, d-mannose, and d-mannitol in aqueous MeOH at room temperature. A notable observation is the conversion of d-mannitol triacetonide into 1,2:3,4-di-O-isopropylidene-d-mannitol (48%) and 3,4-O-isopropylidene-d-mannitol (36%) brought about in 6 h by H-beta zeolite and the non-occurrence of any hydrolysis in the case of H-ZSM-5 catalyzed reaction in 24 h under the same conditions. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.