We reported previously that a novel dipeptide alcohol, l-homoserylaminoethanol (Hse-Gly-ol), is a selective inhibitor of eukaryotic DNA polymerase epsilon (pol epsilon) [Bioorg. Med. Chem.2004, 12, 957-962]. The discovery suggests that the dipeptide structure could be a chemical frame for a DNA polymerase inhibitor. Therefore, we chemically synthesized 27 different species of dipeptide alcohols, and tested this inhibitory capability. Compound 6 (l-aspartylaminoethanol, Asp-Gly-ol) was found to be the strongest pol alpha inhibitor. Compound 6 did not influence the activities of other replicative DNA polymerases such as delta and epsilon, and had no effect on the activities of prokaryotic DNA polymerases, nor DNA metabolic enzymes such as human immunodeficiency virus type 1 reverse transcriptase, T7 RNA polymerase and bovine deoxyribonuclease I. The inhibitory effect of compound 6 on pol alpha was dose-dependent, and 50% inhibition was observed at a concentration of 33.5 microM. Compound 6-induced inhibition of pol alpha activity was non-competitive with both the DNA template-primer and the dNTP substrate. This is the first report on a water-soluble pol alpha-specific inhibitor, sought for precise biochemical studies of pol alpha. The relationships between the structures of dipeptide alcohols and the inhibition of eukaryotic DNA polymerases are discussed.