Chiral γ-lactams have been synthesized in excellent yields and enantioselectivities (up to 99% yield and 96% ee) from easily accessible racemic γ-hydroxy γ-lactams via an iridium-phosphoramidite catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation. The reaction was designed based on insight into the reaction mechanism demonstrated in previous work and can be carried out at a reduced catalyst loading of 0.1 mol % on a gram scale. Several potential bioactive compounds can be synthesized from the reduced products. Mechanistic studies indicated that the reduced products were obtained via the hydrogenation of the N-acyliminium cations, generated from γ-hydroxy γ-lactams.